.jpg)
Communities demand background checks on ice cream truck drivers
Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Health & Safety, In The News
Ice cream trucks are an icon of childhood summers. Just when you think it can't get any hotter, you hear that tinkling (and sometimes, really creepy) music and know that relief is on its way.Communities across the country, however, are starting to pay more attention to who's behind the wheel of their neighborhood ice cream truck.
Spearheaded, possibly, by a handful of incidences where children found themselves in the hands (and trucks) of sexual predators working as ice cream truck drivers, officials in several states are passing laws that require strict background checks before hiring. Many are looking to ban criminals from this kind of employment altogether.
Our local neighborhood ice cream truck is owned by a close family friend of my parents, so this is an issue I've never considered before. It seems like common sense that people who have been convicted of crimes against children shouldn't be allowed to drive around in a rolling kid magnet, handing out ice cream...ever. But sweeping background checks for past convictions of any type seems like overkill to me. What do you think?
Recent Posts
- Reviews: What's New This Week (11/06/2009)
- Jim Carrey's "A Christmas Carol" Creepy in a Good Way (11/06/2009)
- Twitter Follow Friday on ParentDish! (11/06/2009)
- Babies Pick Up Mothers' Accents In The Womb (11/06/2009)
- Recall: Adventure Playsets (11/06/2009)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ajoy39 5-15-2008 @ 9:51AM
I loved The Ice cream truck when i was a kid. I loved it even more as a teen after discovering he didn't only sell ice cream but also drugs. Background check should be done not only for predetors but also drug deelers.
Reply
kate 5-15-2008 @ 11:59AM
Our local ice cream truck not only plays music, but a sweet, female voice comes on in the middle of the loop calling "Hello!" Do you think the driver is a 30-something, Caucasian woman, as the voice denotes? We always need to have some caution when it comes to kids and strangers, but this particular tactic seems so icky to me.
If all other child-care or child-business-related workers have to have sweeping background checks, why not ice cream truck drivers? And certainly beyond sexual or child abuse crimes. What about their driving record? Drug or alcohol convictions? Because that can certainly impact driving, even if they've never received a ticket.
Reply