Advocacy & Safety - 8-year given ticket!

Here's the beef:
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/7090233.htm

"8-year-old receives ticket
Bradenton bike rider's $34 fine upsets parents
ABBY WEINGARTEN
Herald Staff Writer


GRANT JEFFERIES-The Herald

Scott Montgomery, 8, of Bradenton is shown with the citation issued to him by a Bradenton police officer for not yielding the right-of-way to a vehicle.


BRADENTON - This traffic offender is half the legal driving age, makes $2-$10 a week and doesn't have the first clue how to write a check.

But 8-year-old Scott Montgomery now owes the Manatee County Clerk of Courts $34 for a ticket he was issued by a Bradenton police officer Wednesday night. And he and his parents have 30 days to pay it.

Scott was riding a bicycle in his neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. when he jumped a dirt mound with five of his friends, according to Bradenton Police Lt. Sam Campbell. He crossed paths with a 2001 Nissan driving west, and the car clipped the rear tire of Scott's 5-pound, 16-inch BMX at 803 22nd Ave W., Campbell said.

The second-grader at Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School, standing 47 inches tall and weighing 62 pounds, came away without a scratch, but was cited by Officer Jeff Beckley for violating the right of way. He was initially given an $86 ticket, but officers realized Thursday night that they had overcharged him for the violation.

"I'm doing OK," said Scott, who was not wearing a helmet during the accident. "I hit a little bit of his car, but then I just got off my bike and ran away."

Danielle McIntosh, Scott's mother, said the two people in the Nissan claimed Scott flew up onto the hood of their car, causing $1,000 worth of damage. Campbell said that police estimated $500 and could not confirm whether Scott hit the hood.

"His mother was apparently pretty upset with us," Campbell said. "But in this case, the child caused the accident by pulling out in front of the car. The driver didn't have time to react."

Scott is a good enough candidate for a citation as any, according to Campbell. He said officers issue citations to many children throughout the year for not wearing helmets or for committing traffic violations on their bicycles. Officers draft the tickets in the child's name but usually expect the parents to pay them.

If no one is cited during an accident, insurance companies will demand that vehicle owners pay for their damages even if they are not at fault. It is a liability as well as a safety issue, Campbell said.

"I'm going to not pay this ticket, and Scott's definitely not going to pay it," McIntosh said, alluding to the fact that Scott has been saving his chore-based earnings to buy a battery-operated miniature Monster Truck. "He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

Scott has never taken a formal bike safety course. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office provides these classes to students at a school's request, according to Sgt. McCarther Sellars, the supervisor for elementary school officers. Deputies Darryl Davis and Johnny Jones, who are assigned to Scott's school, have not offered any courses there to date.

During the safety courses, which began a few years ago, deputies teach the children that anyone under 16 years of age who does not wear a helmet will receive about a $34 fine. They also instruct students on how to properly ride on the right side of the road and with the flow of traffic, how to use turn signals and other skills."

Yes, the kid was in the wrong, but did he even know better? He is a child, a juvenile, which means he is not legaly responsible yet. By the Sheriff's own admission, the kid has not even had a chance to take a riding safety class.

Having said that, I want to let this out for discussion.

lucky kid....he almost paid a really high price for his actions

his parents should pay the ticket ... and pay for the damages to the car if the events occured as stated

Send the kids parents to parenting class, the cop forgot to ticket him for not wearing a helmet. Lets try and teach the kid he needs to be responsible for his actions. If this were my kid I would be using his allowance to pay for his ticket. he would be grounded for not wearing his helmet. And he would be doing some serious chores around the house to help offset the cost of his tickets. His parents don't seem to realize how lucky they are not to be putting a coffin in the ground today. I hope the police do not let this slide and if daddy doesn't pay the ticket they haul him off to court (dad that is it is his legal responsibility) like they would to anyone else who broke the law.

"He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

Then why are you letting him ride his bike in the street, you moron?

I swear, all this talk about bicycling licenses misses the mark. We need parenting licenses.

RichC

If no one is cited during an accident, insurance companies will demand that vehicle owners pay for their damages even if they are not at fault. It is a liability as well as a safety issue, Campbell said.

"I'm going to not pay this ticket, and Scott's definitely not going to pay it," McIntosh said, alluding to the fact that Scott has been saving his chore-based earnings to buy a battery-operated miniature Monster Truck. "He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

... and he will NEVER understand what right-of-way is if mommy continues to enable this type of behavior. In fact, he may never know tomorrow if mommy continues to allow him to ride without a helmet. This is an example of very poor parenting, IMHO.

It's the kids fault; moreover, the ticket had to be issued for the driver (not @ fault) to get reimbursed for the damages to his car. This time the kid got lucky, and is not in the morgue. With mom's attitude, his next close call may be his last. His parents should consider the $34 fine to be the best money they ever spent.

Oh boy, another DHer or FRer in the making. :mad:

I think ngateguy & bac understand where I am coming from.
The parents should get the ticket & pay it, not an 8-year old. It seems too many parents want MTV, the schools, and the police to raise their kids.
The old saw is 'it takes a village to raise a child', but the parents must be part of the village.

"He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

Then why are you letting him ride his bike in the street, you moron?

My thoughts exactly. There seems to be little concern from the parents about the kid's safety, they just don't want to be stuck with a fine.

I wouldn't let a kid on the street unless they knew what they were doing and then if they did transgress, I'd make them pay the fine to show them how serious the road rules are. It's not a matter of paying or not paying a fine, it's about this kid staying alive. If he's given the message that he can do whatever he likes on his bike with no consequences, he'll end up under a car.

The old saw is 'it takes a village to raise a child', but the parents must be part of the village.


A lot of these kids are raising themselves. That is why they are out in the jumping ramps into oncoming traffic. If you don't believe it, you should come to my neighborhood school yard some evening. THere are always 20 to 40 kids there with absolutely no parents in sight. It is usually the same kids and many of them are there from after school till dark. Who knows where their parents are???

Anyway most of these boys have bikes. THey build ramps and ramp into the area around the playground equipment that is designed to be a landing area for kids if they fall off slide etc. I have cursed these kids many times telling them to quit and they just come right back.

The most amazing thing is the way the tear up their bikes. The standard way to dismount their bike is to jump off of it in full pedal and watch it sail away and crash hard on the pavement. Then they all laugh! :cry: I had one new bike my whole childhood and I knew if I broke it that was it, no more bike. THese kids know that they will get a new bike because that is how the parents keep them out of their hair. They send them off on their expensive bike so they don't feel guilty about not spending any time with them.

So yeah the parents are to blame. It might take a village to raise a kid but when the village is full of idiots and most of them aren't all that interested in kids we are in trouble. I think a lot of these kids are lost, hopefully not for good.

Sounds like a parent of these times.Stupid.

"He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

Then why are you letting him ride his bike in the street, you moron?

I swear, all this talk about bicycling licenses misses the mark. We need parenting licenses.

I couldn't agree more. About the only thing I can't understand is how the parents failed to educate their kid about that by the age of eight. Heck, when I was a kid I knew by the time I was five years old that you don't suddenly run/ride/walk out onto the street in front of cars. If the parents really cared about the kid (as opposed to really caring about the fine) they would be grateful that the incident didn't result in much more serious consequences.

If the police had issued me a citation as a kid my parents would have given me a little bonus to help me remember why I got it. I would not have been able to sit for a week.

If the police had issued me a citation as a kid my parents would have given me a little bonus to help me remember why I got it. I would not have been able to sit for a week.

Yep same here, in fact I was such a well behaved kid I still fear wooden spoons and find it difficult to sit on hard surfaces :D

The parents should get the ticket & pay it, not an 8-year old
If the kid doesn't have to pony up some of his hard
earned money (saved for a toy monster truck) he'll never learn. Mom can take his $5 or so, and tuck it away
and later put it in to his savings, whatever. The kid will learn a lesson on responsiblity. Send both mom and kid to cycling safety class.
marty

Posted by SamDaBikinMan - 10-25-03 at 06:29 PM
If the police had issued me a citation as a kid my parents would have given me a little bonus to help me remember why I got it. I would not have been able to sit for a week.


Yep, sounds like my childhood, too. My kids are being raised the same way. And it works. The elder one is in his freshman year of college and is working to found the first radio station at his school. The younger one is making good grades, respected by his teachers and feared on the paintball field.

A condensed version of the story hit the newswire, was in the Hamilton Spectator yesterday. I think his parents should have been written up for as well for letting him ride without a helmet.

A lot of these kids are raising themselves. That is why they are out in the jumping ramps into oncoming traffic. If you don't believe it, you should come to my neighborhood school yard some evening. THere are always 20 to 40 kids there with absolutely no parents in sight.

Anyway most of these boys have bikes. THey build ramps and ramp into the area around the playground equipment that is designed to be a landing area for kids if they fall off slide etc. .

Thank goodness somebody is having fun. What concerns me more than parents not watching kid's every move is the fact that kids can't do anything these days without somebody watching them and telling them to stop because it is too dangerous.

When I was a kid, we spent the whole day doing crazy stuff, boring stuff, silly stuff; and our parents weren't hoovering around us. My kids listen in amazement when I tell them of the freedoms we had, for example, to explore a creek for a whole day and show up just in time for dinner. "It must have been neat to live when you were a kid, Dad, kids had so much freedom".

Making ramps and jumping off of them; Yahoo! I did it and my kids are doing it too. I cringe when I see them, but I'm not going to force them to do circles in front of the house or come inside to play video games.

Kids should know about right of way and how to cross a road safely by the time they are 6. Dont they walk to school? Perhaps they all get driven in their Mummy's SUV.

If he's given the message that he can do whatever he likes on his bike with no consequences, he'll end up under a car.

And it'll be even worse if he survives long enough to get behind the wheel of one.

Making ramps and jumping off of them; Yahoo! I did it and my kids are doing it too. I cringe when I see them, but I'm not going to force them to do circles in front of the house or come inside to play video games.

Me too, but I at least had enough sense to not do it in traffic.

My five year old son knows enough about the road to know not to cross one without looking. He knows this because I taught him, but he still needs to be watched doing it simply because he's still not very good at it. He never crosses the street unsupervised. He still has his fun on the bike though - crashing into things in the yard and so on. Safety doesn't preclude a bit of dangerous fun.

Message to the so-called parents of this sprog: Stop trying to shirk your responsibilities. If he doesn't understand the rules of the road, it's because you have failed to teach him. If you aren't prepared to teach him, keep him far away from the road. If you don't think he's capable of learning such simple concepts, I despair for a child whose parents have such a low opinion of his capabilities. Pay the fine, ground the kid for a month, and be grateful you're not feeding him through a straw for the rest of his life.


"I hit a little bit of his car, but then I just got off my bike and ran away."

He should be booked for leaving the scene as well, no? ;)

i was also raised like sam and the few others. and i'm generally in favor of it.

not sure i'd use the corporal punsihment approach here, though. the kid's likely already pretty shaken up about it, and i think a simple "that was pretty dumb" would suffice, with a bit more explanation about why it was dumb and why i'm mad. but *hell* yes, the kid's allowance would be paying for the ticket!

i certainly wouldn't be complaining about the $34 life-extension tax imposed by the almighty ...

Hmmm,
We have 5 kids ranging in age from 10 to 16. We all ride. We have taught them from the time they were first able to ride. We go on group rides every day in the summer. (helmets on everyone!) They all do very well on thier own because they have been well taught. Sounds like these parents just don't care much about their poor son. I agree, they should pay the ticket and TEACH their son the value of a helmet, and TEACH him the rules of the road.

To bad this kids parents don't know the joy of being out on the trails with thier kids! I would not trade our ride time for anything!

What's wrong with that kid?!?! He should be inside playing "beat 'em up games" on his Playstation. What is this world coming to?

ok..hes 8 years old. make him do community work. and i mean its great that hes cycling and all but even wen i was that age which was...1...2...about 6 yrs ago i wasnt that stupid to go running out in front of cars..mayb hes just a little adventurous boy. or mayb showing off...make his parents pay the $34. its not a hell of alot of money and they should teach their son a few road rules wie theyre at it

What's wrong with that kid?!?! He should be inside playing "beat 'em up games" on his Playstation. What is this world coming to?
what do you aspect, he's 8 years old

"He's an 8-year-old child. He does not understand what the right of way is."

Then why are you letting him ride his bike in the street, you moron?

I swear, all this talk about bicycling licenses misses the mark. We need parenting licenses.

RichC


Spot on. Sounds like these guys are from the shallow end of the gene pool.