Originally Posted by Daily Commute
I'm glad your kid was OK, but the accident illustrates the dangers of sidewalk riding. If your kid had been on the street, both he and the driver would have had more time to react. Some people feel safer on the sidewalk, but that's a gross misperception.
Thanks. Forunately, it only scared the daylights out of him (and me!) and nearly earned the driver a week in the hospital. While you are correct in observing that had my (then) eight year-old son been on the street, both he and the driver might have had more time to react, I would never allow my son on that particular street at that age: the street is an artery for entering/exiting the city and the drivers are often recklessly changing lanes, blocking cross-walks, encroaching on the T-shaped intersection, hugging the curb and speeding like demons. He might never have had a chance to see nine if he rode on that street. And besides, the truck that hit my son failed to stop at the end of the blind alley before the sidewalk, proceeding past the stop sign as if it wasn't even there. He even concurred it was entirely his fault: he would have hit anyone walking (or riding) by.