Neighbor ‘deals’ with kids playing on his driveway in the most awesome way

Homeowners don’t like anyone trespassing on their property, and it’s no different for Dave Palazzolo of Salt Lake City, Utah. To keep his household safe, he purchased a smart security camera that will alert him of any intruders on his driveway.

It didn’t take long for the device to capture a “trespasser” who was veering onto his property every night.

“You get the alert and you kind of have an immediate sense of anxiety – ‘oh, someone’s going to do harm to me,'” Dave told CBS News.

But as it turns out, the person wasn’t much of a threat – it was just a little 4-year-old boy learning how to ride his bike.

The security camera sends him alerts every time someone is on his driveway, and Dave admitted to feeling annoyed at them initially.

“Ping, ‘person at driveway.’ And you’re like, ‘Argh! You’re interrupting my Netflix!'” he said.

Instead of telling the kid to stay off his driveway, the 47-year-old came up with a better plan. Armed with a piece of chalk, Dave went out to his driveway one night and drew a winding racetrack for the young biker to enjoy!

The next day, the boy’s mom noticed the track outline on the driveway and showed it to her son. After a while, the kid launched his bike and started speeding along the racetrack.

“You can almost see the look on his face when he gets it, and then he just charges into it,” Dave recalled of the scene.

Dave isn’t a stranger to the world of biking. In fact, he’s a motorcycle enthusiast and a founder of CanyonChasers Motorcycle Adventure, Sport & Touring. So he definitely understands how excited the boy must feel tackling the racecourse, even if it’s only made of chalk.

“I’m a little embarrassed to admit how excited I was to see how he reacted – the video is just so cute I think he did five laps that first night,” he told Daily Mail.

As the days rolled by, Dave became more serious about improving his driveway racetrack. He even built a contraption to keep the lines straight and researched popular racecourses so he could draw an authentic track.

He made use of the vast space on the concrete to design longer tracks with more twists. Assuming the boy could read, he also added road signs and encouraging messages to inspire him to keep going.

Every time the rain washed away the racetrack, Dave would replace it with a new one. And each time, the track becomes more challenging with its twists and turns.

It didn’t take long before other people in the neighborhood noticed the driveway racetrack. Multiple kids, grown-ups riding their bikes, and even adults pushing strollers had their fun and eagerly put their skills to the test. It’s safe to say that everybody loved Dave’s brilliant idea!

He first drew the makeshift racetrack in June, and to this day, the little boy—named Quinn—still uses it, and he’s gotten so much better! Before the security camera caught him on the driveway, Dave had never met him or his family. But all summer, he’s been helping the kid improve his biking skills in his own way.

Josh, Quinn’s dad, thinks it’s an incredible gesture.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Just that we can be a part of something like that – that we can see the good side of humanity. It feels good.”

On the other hand, Dave just wanted to bring some happiness into the world during these trying times.

“A little bit of joy goes a long way – we’re all quarantined, we’re all frustrated and tired, wouldn’t we all be just a little bit better off if we just went for a bike ride and remembered what it was like to be a kid, even if just for a few minutes?” he said.

Watch Dave’s interview with CBS News in the video below to learn more about this story.

Instead of letting his homeowner instinct take over, Dave chose kindness instead. May we all be more like him in our daily lives. Share this story with your family and friends to spread the good vibes!