We witnessed a young girl on a scooter crossing an arterial street at a corner in Albert Lea on Sunday afternoon.

The street was fairly empty, except one little blue pickup a ways down the street.

The little girl indeed should have paid closer attention before crossing.

But the little blue pickup should not have been speeding.

So when the driver of the truck had to slow down &8212; not stop, just slow down &8212; because of the little girl on her scooter, he honked angrily at her as he passed. In fact, he looked like he was about to yell at the kid until he saw an adult standing near the corner.

The driver seemed to forget that even though she was just a little girl, she had the right of way. She had more right to yell at him for speeding than he at her for crossing.

The Minnesota crosswalk law says motorists must stop at intersections without stoplights when pedestrians seek to cross the street at a crosswalk.

In the little girl&8217;s case, there was no marked crosswalk. But the law adds that even if no lines are painted on the street, crosswalks exist at the street corners.

The law also states pedestrians can&8217;t simply step in the way without giving a reasonable distance for the automobiles to yield.

But in this case, the truck had plenty of time to yield. The driver thought he was King of the Road and wasn&8217;t in the mood for delays.

It is summertime. Children are out and about playing. No drivers should be in such a hurry that they can&8217;t go a little slower.

And when they see children crossing, they should do the responsible thing and stop.