Why is it that a boy must die when riding in a residential parking lot? (http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/04/14/6_year_old_concord_nh_boy_struck_on_bike_killed/)
The article doesn't mention anything about the driver or the circumstances of the incident. I would only suppose that the cager was speeding through while talking on his cell phone in his PICKUP.
Why can't people just be a little more cautious and drive slower in parking lots? Has anyone been to the mall lately? I've seen some CRAZY people in there driving like it was a race track....
Eff them cagers I say.
6-year-old Concord, N.H., boy struck on bike, killed
April 14, 2008
CONCORD, N.H.—A 6-year-old Concord boy has died after being hit by a pickup truck while riding his bike.
more stories like this
Police say Austin Dumont was riding around an apartment complex parking lot yesterday afternoon when he was hit. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.
He was a first-grader at Beaver Meadow School.
10 Wheels
04-14-08, 08:28 AM
More on the story:
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/FRONTPAGE/804140318
wahoonc
04-14-08, 09:05 AM
People drive like idiots all over the place, parking lots included. I ride my bike too and from my hotel to various points within a 4-5 mile radius. The other afternoon I was headed over to the local watering hole which happens to be on the opposite side of the mall from my motel. The posted is 20mph if ANY vehicle in that parking lot was going under 45mph I would be very suprised, they treat the circle road like a race track, cut between spaces, etc. Until people take personal responsibility and drivers are properly trained and licensed it is going to continue.
Aaron:)
shatdow
04-14-08, 09:57 AM
Well, it looks like you got the pickup part right, although the second article says speed was not a factor.
Very sad.
Galls
04-14-08, 10:07 AM
While if anyone ran over my son I would murder them, this one seems to, at least in part, be the fault of the parents for not watching a 6 year old boy riding his bike.
AndrewP
04-14-08, 10:26 AM
Shopping mall parking lots are particularly dangerous, because you never know what direction cars wiil be coming from. This was in the parking lot of an apartment complex, where children can be expected to be playing.
tinydr
04-14-08, 10:43 AM
removed by author...
mandovoodoo
04-14-08, 10:46 AM
Can't watch them every second. We lost one in a museum - she ducked under a table and disappeared in a crowd. Found her, of course. And the other disappeared for an hour. Police were on the way when we found him napping under the computer desk, tucked way back under in the dark. Kids sometimes just do things.
Carusoswi
04-20-08, 05:19 AM
I understand that this is a cycling advocacy forum, but it amazes me how we tend to jump to unwarranted conclusions. There is so little detail provided with the account. At six years old, this youngster may have been riding a truly tiny bike. It is likely very low to the ground. The accident occurred in the middle of a three-way intersection (presumably contained within the parking lot).
Speed and alcohol seem to have been ruled out as contributing factors.
Why are we so quick to condemn the pick-up driver - make assumptions contrary that he must have been speeding contrary to information given in the account of the accident - someone injecting the possibility that he was probably using his cell phone at the time?
Why not also inject that the kid was probably observing bike lane markings?
As an adult, I totalled a bike when I came around a corner in an apartment parking lot (not at excessive speed, I might add), was surprised by an oncoming car (also not travelling at excessive speed), hit my brakes, went into a skid, hit the pavement, and slid under the front wheels of the car.
Fortunately, only my bike was damaged.
This unfortunate accident might have been similar to mine, who knows?
Why must we always condemn with such inflammatory language? I don't get it.
Caruso
dobber
04-20-08, 05:30 AM
I understand that this is a cycling advocacy forum, but it amazes me how we tend to jump to unwarranted conclusions. There is so little detail provided with the account. At six years old, this youngster may have been riding a truly tiny bike. It is likely very low to the ground. The accident occurred in the middle of a three-way intersection (presumably contained within the parking lot).
Speed and alcohol seem to have been ruled out as contributing factors.
Why are we so quick to condemn the pick-up driver - make assumptions contrary that he must have been speeding contrary to information given in the account of the accident - someone injecting the possibility that he was probably using his cell phone at the time?
Why not also inject that the kid was probably observing bike lane markings?
As an adult, I totalled a bike when I came around a corner in an apartment parking lot (not at excessive speed, I might add), was surprised by an oncoming car (also not travelling at excessive speed), hit my brakes, went into a skid, hit the pavement, and slid under the front wheels of the car.
Fortunately, only my bike was damaged.
This unfortunate accident might have been similar to mine, who knows?
Why must we always condemn with such inflammatory language? I don't get it.
Caruso
It makes the self-righteous feel better about themselves.
Let's see how many incorrect assumptions FordFaster makes. I'm hoping he never sits on a jury.
CommuterRun
04-20-08, 05:42 AM
I think speculation to vilify someone else makes people feel better about their own choices. It's easier for someone to justify a choice that they may perceive as dangerous, if they can justify any mishap as being the fault of someone else.
dobber
04-20-08, 06:46 AM
I think speculation to vilify someone else makes people feel better about their own choices. It's easier for someone to justify a choice that they may perceive as dangerous, if they can justify any mishap as someone being the fault of someone else.
I think it's easier to be stupid then intelligent. I'm just amazed at the conclusion that FordFasterr managed to jump to based on a few scant lines of text.
As always, the AnS gang is quick to Tar & Feather. When the facts come out they'll of course vilify the reporter for not ascertaining the facts quickly enough.
Sledbikes
04-20-08, 08:00 AM
I understand that this is a cycling advocacy forum, but it amazes me how we tend to jump to unwarranted conclusions. There is so little detail provided with the account. At six years old, this youngster may have been riding a truly tiny bike. It is likely very low to the ground. The accident occurred in the middle of a three-way intersection (presumably contained within the parking lot).
Speed and alcohol seem to have been ruled out as contributing factors.
Why are we so quick to condemn the pick-up driver - make assumptions contrary that he must have been speeding contrary to information given in the account of the accident - someone injecting the possibility that he was probably using his cell phone at the time?
Why not also inject that the kid was probably observing bike lane markings?
As an adult, I totalled a bike when I came around a corner in an apartment parking lot (not at excessive speed, I might add), was surprised by an oncoming car (also not travelling at excessive speed), hit my brakes, went into a skid, hit the pavement, and slid under the front wheels of the car.
Fortunately, only my bike was damaged.
This unfortunate accident might have been similar to mine, who knows?
Why must we always condemn with such inflammatory language? I don't get it.
Caruso
thats cause theyre ***** hats more than likely it was a 16 inch bike VS a fullsize truck (whose mirrors are higher off the ground for towing) you cant see a 16 inch bike riding kid 4 feet away from the tail gate. my grievances to the kids family and parking lots arent for bike riding i knew that from experience at age 9
crhilton
04-20-08, 09:14 AM
Why is it that a boy must die when riding in a residential parking lot? (http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/04/14/6_year_old_concord_nh_boy_struck_on_bike_killed/)
The article doesn't mention anything about the driver or the circumstances of the incident. I would only suppose that the cager was speeding through while talking on his cell phone in his PICKUP.
Why can't people just be a little more cautious and drive slower in parking lots? Has anyone been to the mall lately? I've seen some CRAZY people in there driving like it was a race track....
Eff them cagers I say.
In an apartment lot, I can tell you what happened:
Blind corner, the truck took it at 20mph because he's an idiot.
People rarely get hit (most of us know that apartment lots are dangerous -- because of these idiots) but I see people speed through my complex all the time. It's like they can't waste one minute of their life to leave the complex at a safe speed?
crhilton
04-20-08, 09:19 AM
Speed and alcohol seem to have been ruled out as contributing factors.
Why are we so quick to condemn the pick-up driver - make assumptions contrary that he must have been speeding contrary to information given in the account of the accident - someone injecting the possibility that he was probably using his cell phone at the time?
Caruso
Because a six year old boy died in an apartment parking lot after being hit by a truck. The kid could have been doing the dumbest things in the world, and the truck should have been going slow enough to make up for it. That's how you drive in parking lots!
The boy was six, on a bicycle. The driver was a licensed driver of a licensed two ton steel mammoth (probably heaver, I'm being conservative). Who do you think should be blamed when something goes wrong in a parking lot?
We inject all of these assumptions because we've watched it over and over. And he was probably doing something stupid: I doubt the boy road into his wheel (but that is a minor possibility).
Personally I've seen lots of incredible stupidity in apartment lots. It's absolutely astonishing.
I hope someone does find details though. It'd be nice to know what did happen. Until then, my guess is the driver screwed up.
tinydr
04-20-08, 09:43 AM
removed by author
wagathon
04-20-08, 09:46 AM
A 6-year old bicylcling in an apartment parking lot could only make sense to a parent that probably is a lot more guilty than the driver of a vehicle when something bad happens. I've never heard of anything so stupid ... except for the parents of the kid that rode a skateboard on his belly down the driveway between two parked cars in his parents driveway, into the street, getting crushed by a landscaper's truck as the driver simply pulled away from the curb. Maybe the parents of the dead 6-year old can sue the apartment complex, or the driver's employer or insurance company, and perhaps the settlement will help the parents pretend that they are not responsible the the loss of their child, due to their own negligence.
dobber
04-20-08, 10:13 AM
In an apartment lot, I can tell you what happened:
Blind corner, the truck took it at 20mph because he's an idiot.
People rarely get hit (most of us know that apartment lots are dangerous -- because of these idiots) but I see people speed through my complex all the time. It's like they can't waste one minute of their life to leave the complex at a safe speed?
For all you know the driver was backing out of his parking space when the child rode behind. A prudent driver would have checked his mirrors but somebody that small could easily be hidden.
Or the child speed out from between a gap and into the side of the car. A car moving a 5mph is just as capable of crushing someone as one moving at 55mph.
dobber
04-20-08, 10:16 AM
Personally I've seen lots of incredible stupidity in apartment lots. It's absolutely astonishing.
I hope someone does find details though. It'd be nice to know what did happen. Until then, my guess is the driver screwed up.
I've seen lots of incredible stupidity on internet forums as well. And you know what they say about guesses. They're like opinions. Which are alot like *******s.
Sledbikes
04-20-08, 10:27 AM
For all you know the driver was backing out of his parking space when the child rode behind. A prudent driver would have checked his mirrors but somebody that small could easily be hidden.
Or the child speed out from between a gap and into the side of the car. A car moving a 5mph is just as capable of crushing someone as one moving at 55mph.
x2
Allister
04-20-08, 02:21 PM
I have a 6 year old son. No way in Hell I'd let him ride around a car park unsupervised. Ever. It's a tragic loss, but if I was that parent, I'd blame no-one but myself.
crhilton
04-20-08, 03:27 PM
For all you know the driver was backing out of his parking space when the child rode behind. A prudent driver would have checked his mirrors but somebody that small could easily be hidden.
Or the child speed out from between a gap and into the side of the car. A car moving a 5mph is just as capable of crushing someone as one moving at 55mph.
Read the article, he was killed in an 3-way intersection in the lot.
crhilton
04-20-08, 03:28 PM
Ya know, I wouldn't let my kid (who is hypothetical) ride in an apartment lot. But it shouldn't be that way.
It's unfortunate that a large part of the group of people who live in apartments don't feel the need to be careful in these lots. People are more careful on side streets.
politicalgeek
04-20-08, 03:42 PM
I feel bad for the family and the loss of their son. I won't speculate on the events.
In my apartment complex, it drives me nuts that kids and parents feel its their right to use the parking lots as a playground. The apartment has tons of green space and a playground within walking distance, yet day after day I see parents moving basketball hoops into the parking lot, playing catch with their kids and so forth on the black top when there is a huge patch of grass 10 feet in front of them.
dobber
04-21-08, 04:45 PM
Read the article, he was killed in an 3-way intersection in the lot.
Thanks sparky. My assumptions still stand.
http://www.wmur.com/news/15880007/detail.html
Neighbors said the truck was coming down the road, went around a corner and began to back up. That's when it hit Austin Dumont.
"He (the truck driver) came in very slowly, made sure there weren't kids behind him," said Tonya Brown, who witnessed the incident.