Bikey Mikey

So, I'm on a major road in my car, 45mph, stopped at a stop light. The light changes green and I start to drive when suddenly a kid, 13 Y.O. on a BMX bike zooms in front of me on the cross-walk. I brake suddenly, but the car in the left lane clips the bike. OMG! The kid gets up and the driver who clipped the bike turns left onto the intersecting road. I do a U-turn, safely, up ahead to check on everyone. The driver who clipped the bike is in a panic and I call across the road and ask if the kid is okay when he bikes across to where we are standing. The bike looks fine, no damage to the car and the kid just appears to have a small scrape on his forearm. I tell the driver that there was no way to have seen the kid. I offer to go with the driver to the kid's house to ensure the kid was okay and to let his family know that the driver was not at fault. The kid and the driver both state they would like me to come with them to the kid's house. After we arrive, the driver explains what went on and I verify what happened. The mom asks if there was any damage to the car--there was not. The driver stated that he didn't give a hoot about the car and was only concerned about the child. The grandmother, who's a nurse, checks the kid and all seems well. The mother decided she didn't see a reason for any information exchange--if she had or the driver had, I would've advised making a police report to protect the driver and the kid. The mom and grandmother, where grateful that the driver and I made sure the kid got home and that we didn't just drive off like too many may have done in that situation.

I am so thankful that the child wasn't injured beyond a couple of small scrapes--it could've been really tragic. So, please talk to your kids, grand-kids, nieces and nephews about crossing streets safely--be they back streets or major multi-lane roads.

B. Carfree

Because so many motorists run red lights, I long ago developed the habit of counting to two before I start up at a fresh green light. Many a time that has saved me the hassle of dealing with a cars stuck to the front end of my truck. It would also prevent me from not seeing a child who was pushing the stale green without the horsepower to avoid a tie. (I also look for such hazards since I would probably be suicidal if I ever harmed a child when I could have avoided it.)

350htrr

I don't count, I look, and if safe, I go...

trackhub

A good policy, I use it myself. I count "1-1000-2". And yes, this has saved me from:

-Kids riding on sidewalks, who ride right in front of you without warning, as the OP described.
-Pedestrians, oblivious to everything, who just keep on walking, no matter what.
Cambridge pedestrians seem to be the worst for this, followed by Brandeis students.
Reason unknown.

The problem with doing a count at a Massachusetts intersection, is that you will likely be "horned" by
the Low-IQ person behind you. This is usually accompanied by a hateful glare.

Parents no longer teach their kids to bike ride safely. I'm not sure when this happened. There is also the school of thought
that states that "If anyone hits me, I'll sue and get a whole lotta money!" This seems to be imbedded in the DNA of some people.

Sorry for the rant.

Louis Le Tour

Johnny Carson, on the Tonite Show, once claimed that the SHORTEST time span that science can measure is that moment between when the light turns green and some bozo behind you starts laying on the horn!! Therefore, I don't sweat it when somebody in a big hurry begins blaring on his horn, I just give'm a little "toot-toot" in response.

downtube42

I had a similar incident occur... when I was the 13 year old kid. When the police arrived at the scene - called by a witness - they issued an alert for a driver who struck a child then left the scene with the child. Eventually they found their way to my house and proceeded to cuff the driver. They were talking hit & run if not more. Fortunately my dad convinced them to let her go.

My point - yes kids should be more careful. So should adults.

OldsCOOL

Scary.


(In before the move)

Wogster

The worst thing I see, and I see it nearly EVERY time I head out, is this, the light turns green, anywhere from 4 to 20 left turners from the other direction, hurry through the light. Of course as your waiting for this to occur, idiot behind you, is laying on his horn wanting you to turn the scene into a collision. Technically of those left turners, only the FIRST should have been in the intersection, and only they should proceed out of the intersection.....

Almost as bad, the light is green, it's jammed on the other side of the light, and nothing is moving, because on the other side are 3 signs in a row, to squeeze left, so that 4 lanes end up as one single lane, rather then getting caught in the intersection when the light changes, I decide to wait until it clears, idiot behind me, starts up on his horn.... Of course when you get there, there is ONE guy in a yellow hard hat, leaning on a shovel while 7 supervisors (white hard hats), are trying to decide what to make yellow hat actually do. Like fill the &^$# pot hole they are discussing.

jimmuller 

A few weeks ago I was biking home from work, came up on a red stoplight. It wasn't at an intersection, just a pedestrian crossing at a school, but also seemingly applicable to the driveway to the school. Three or four cars were stopped already, and of course I stopped too. (Some cyclists think I'm nuts but I stop for red lights in almost all circumstances.) A steady stream of children and cars were taking advantage of their green. Then it changed, green for the street. A mom and two children not much older than maybe 6 weren't quite ready to cross when their light turned red.

What did she do? She grabbed each by the hand and all three of them dashed across the street against the red while half a dozen cars were waiting and getting ready to go. Of course the lead car was observant and patient, but I couldn't help thinking to myself "What kind of a lesson is that for the children? The light changes but instead of obeying it and being safe (not necessarily the same things), you run across???"

On the other hand, the lead driver may have waved them across. Also a bad move.

Typically three or four times a week when I'm waiting to cross a main street from a side street I'll have a driver on the main street stop completely (oblivious to the cars behind) and wave me across. I always turn them down and wave vehemently for them to go. How many ways is their action wrong? They have the right-of-way and they should know better. They waste gas when they bring their 3500lbs vehicle to a stop as well as any car behind them. It is discourteous to the drivers behind them. A few seconds won't matter to me one way or the other.

Similar things happen at pedestrian crosswalks. A ped will walk across, I come to a stop (whether I like it or not isn't important, but I usually don't mind unless I was moving vary fast and have to brake hard), and they say "Oh,you didn't have to stop." I always answer "Yes, I did. You're in a crosswalk. You have the right-of-way."

I do wish more people actually knew the rules. I'm not sure who to blame for this lapse in knowledge and judgment.

rdmjr

Actually, instead of going to the child's home with the driver and the child, the police should have been called. Yes, it's a minor injury, in this case - or at least, it APPEARED to be a minor injury. I was clipped by a car one time while walking to school (entirely my fault!). The driver stopped to make sure I was all right; I told him I was, because I thought I was. The driver went on, but stopped at the nearest police station to report it. That no doubt saved him all sorts of trouble later on, because when I got to school, I couldn't get my sweatshirt off. It turned out that even though my sweatshirt wasn't torn, I had a gash in my arm that took over 20 stitches to close. But, since the driver had reported it, at least he wasn't in trouble for leaving the scene of an accident because some stupid kid wasn't on the sidewalk where he was supposed to be. Ever since, any time anything happens, I insist on calling the police, even if I know I'm in the wrong and will be cited. Better to deal with the citation and probable rate increases from the insurance company than to have somebody come back later saying they had hidden injuries, etc., and not having an official record of anything that happened.
What if it turned out in the OP's incident that the kid had a fracture under that scrape, or had some other type of internal injury that wasn't in evidence right away? That's a nightmare for everyone involved, and for the driver will be much worse than if a police report were made. With the report, there'd be an official record of the event, and in that record would be the information needed to contact witnesses, including Bikey Mikey, plus a description of the child's apparent injuries. Yes, it's a real pain waiting for the police to show up, and then waiting for the report to be made and possibly waiting for paramedics or an ambulance to arrive to check out the kid, but at least then you're covered as well as you can be.
-Bob

Little Darwin

Food for thought in this thread.

I had a car/bicycle incident as a teen. I was delivering newspapers, and was good at slipping the papers into the tubes while riding by at 10-12 mph. One day I did this and then swooped toward the other side of the road, and into the side of a car traveling the same direction I was going. I was fine, and the driver took my phone number so he could call my parents and make sure I was alright. Of course, that was back in the early 70's when lawsuits weren't seen as a lottery by as many people as today...

If I see (or am part of) any incidents, I will definitely ensure that the police are called, as suggested.

fat biker

My state, California has a mandatory report law. Do other states have similar laws?

16000. (a) (a) The driver of a motor vehicle who is in any manner involved in an accident originating from the operation of the motor vehicle on a street or highway, or is involved in a reportable off-highway accident , as defined in Section 16000.1, that has resulted in damage to the property of any one person in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), or in bodily injury, or in the death of any person shall report the accident, within 10 days after the accident...

The injury as described is minor, still an injury.

Jeff, still fat

rebel1916

A kid swooped out of a driveway directly in front of me just earlier today. Luckily, I had seen him through the hedge and slowed way down. I stopped and asked him if he was "a word that can not be typed on BF".

VegasTriker

I was nearly rear-ended this past Sunday on a 6-lane roadway with a 55 mph speed limit. The light changed to yellow as I approached an intersection and I stopped. The young lady behind me must have thought yellow means speed up to beat the light because she didn't slow down. When she realized I was stopping, she pulled into the right lane to go around me and through the light. Unfortunately for her there was a commercial truck coming up on the right side and I heard an awful bang. Her car ended up crossways at the other side of the intersection. She took off the mirror, both right hand door handles, and crumpled the side of the car from front to back. The first words out of her mouth were, "Why did you stop for a yellow light? You don't have to stop on yellow!" It is no wonder we have so many people injured by people running red lights. I stayed for police to come even though she had spared my car, my passenger, and the MTB on the rear rack. I wanted to be sure the police knew the truck driver wasn't at fault.