Another cycling kid in Abingdon, serious accident...

[Fab Foodie]

Cycling home tonight at 1710 I saw an ambulance hurtling along my route, then close to home the poor kid lying next to the crossing being attended too, at the time it looked pretty bad. Pretty upsetting, certainly put me off the Sax lesson I was rushing home for...

Boy cyclist seriously hurt in accident in Abingdon
7:31pm Wednesday 9th September 2009

A teenage cyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries today after a crash in Abingdon.

Paramedics were called just before 5pm to Dunmore Road, next to Tilsley Park, to reports of a collision involving a 14-year-old cyclist and a car.

The boy was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

Deal is that along a 1.5 mile stretch of road there have been 2 fatal accidents plus this one. (There have also been several other kids on bikes in collision with cars elsewhere in the town). My commuting stretch has great cyclepaths (off the road) on them that are heavily used which makes it even more alarming. Thus far it seems that drivers have not been at fault.
So what to do? I'm not the campaigning type, but it's getting distressing that there seems to be a lack of education/care amongst young 2 wheelers in our area. Apart from preventing more carnage, I'd hate local people to think that Abingdon is too dangerous for cycling, it's one of the few places where you see loads of kids riding bikes to school every day.

 

[fossyant]

It's just young kid's attitude to riding on the road....my son has it drilled in to him about riding etc. - he's 8 but I've done the signalling, look etc.....

Most kids don't have this training...at all...... drivers fault for not driving slowly..... I drive slower up my street than I do on the bike........

As to what can you do...I'm the same... there are no Govt or BC schemes near me, despite being a prime area - just 10 miles from "BC Central", and lots of hills etc.... eh.... nothing....at all.............

We don't even get the bike training stuff (ex. Cycling Proficiency) despite being near BC's HQ.......

It's bad....I've been a BC member most of my life....I live near by.... no training for school kids.....

 

[wesa]

Abingdon does seem to have more than its fair share of incidents, I am not sure if I just register them more as I live nearby.

During the dryer months I always used to see the local school kids out on bikes with teachers stationed all over the place in hi-vis overload. There were even letters in the local publications asking drivers to act normally around the kids otherwise they don't learn the realities. I don't remember seeing it this year, I'll have to ask around, perhaps I wasn't hanging round the schools at the right time

 

[garrilla]

Its difficult. My youngest son is the most cycle-orientated of my kids. He's 15. He's been cycling forever and we taught him to ride two-wheels at 4. He has passed national cycling profiency and a local independent one. He rides to school in almost all weathers and it is his primary mode of transport. When he's out on the road with me (at least once a week) he displays impeccible road sense.

However, he's 15 and full of himself testosterone and of independent mind and will and thus he has had two crashes in just the last 6 months. One with a tree and one with a moving car for which he was at fault on both occasions. The car was just 20 yards from home, but he was 'racing' and took a corner without stopping or looking. Fortunatley, nothing more than a damaged bike and very bruised cheek accompanied the damage to his ego.

But even two weeks ago, as I was on my way home, I saw him coming the other way through some traffic lights and banking like he was Cavendish at the last turn into the final 100m. When I challenged him later he insisted that he was in control of the situation and the lights were in his favour and no other traffic was coming. All true, but still...

What else can you do?

Boys of that age will always will be more prevalent in the statistics and its a shame some ofthe stats will be fatal or permanantly injurous, but I'd rather they were 'out there' than inside excercising their thumbs on the PS3.

 

[Fab Foodie]

UPDATE: Better News, thank god...

Teenage cyclist recovering after accident with car
4:43pm Thursday 10th September 2009

By Herald Reporter »


A TEENAGER was today recovering after being hit by a car while cycling along an Abingdon road.

The 14-year-old boy, who is a pupil at Fitzharrys School, in Abingdon, suffered serious injuries to his leg after a collision with a car, in Dunmore Road, just before 5pm on Wednesday.

He is being treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital, where his condition has been described as stable. The driver of the car was breathalysed and was not charged.