I was saddened to read the recent article of a 5-year-old Amityville girl who was struck by a passing car as she stepped into the street after getting ice cream from an ice cream truck.

New York State should improve upon existing laws to make buying ice cream safer for our children. Currently, ice cream vendors are required to make sales from the side of the truck away from traffic and on roadways with speed limits of 30 mph and under. The vehicle must be parked or lawfully stopped and drivers are prohibited from backing up to make a sale. Ice cream trucks are only required to have caution signs to warn passing vehicles of children and pedestrians in the vicinity of the truck.

Legislation has been proposed to take this law one step further and require motorists to stop, look and then proceed on as they approach an ice cream truck conducting business.

A visual warning sign, which many drivers do not see, is obviously not enough. To make ice cream trucks even more noticeable, they should be affixed with "STOP" arms with flashing lights. These arms will help alert drivers of the presence of customers in the vicinity of the ice cream truck.

Children love ice cream and it's a shame that accidents are clouding one of our great summertime traditions. We must find a better way to heighten the visibility of ice cream trucks for all approaching motorists.