Father Defends Using Lawnmower Tractor To Give Kids Hayride Home From School
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An Upper Dublin father was criticized and contacted by his children's school after giving them a hayride home with his lawnmower tractor.
Chris Malloy, talking with Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, said the school was not happy with the stunt and told him not to do it again.
"The hayride was Monday. On Tuesday, my wife got an email from the principal, saying for safety concerns, don't do it again. My wife, to her credit, said that's between you and my husband. She's not my boss. She's my partner. On Wednesday, I got and email that was word for word, the same email, saying for traffic and safety concerns, don't do it again. I didn't see any increased danger. Anything people have said about there being danger, what if a car comes and hits you, it doesn't matter if I'm in a tractor or not if a car comes and hits me."
He insists that he's done nothing wrong and doesn't understand the controversy.
"I looked at some websites and I looked at the PA DMV website and it seems like I'm within the letter of the law. Pennsylvania's an agricultural state. People drive tractor drive tractors on roads. They ask that you have an orange triangle and I actually went on Amazon and purchased one just so it wouldn't be an issue. To be fair, I did this on the sidewalk. It was two blocks. We crossed with the crossing guards. I really don't see any increasing in risk."
Malloy said in many places, driving tractors around is normal activity.
"I have relatives in upstate New York and I meet a lot of people at my job [in] the more rural areas. They have drive your tractor to school days for the seniors. It's really not a big deal. We've all been on hayrides. I thought this was just, kind of, a fun thing. It's a two block drive. It's not like I was going down the highway."
