Riding with Kids

[TWBNK]

[rant]Today was such a lovely day I decided to take a ride with the kids. I chose to ride along an embankment that is popular with cyclists and walkers from Meols to Leasowe. My youngest is on stabilisers and she likes the flat surface of this route.

The naughty bit is that this embankment is marked on the local map as a 'route where cycles should be pushed' however I imagine hundreds of people will cycle down there each day. It is also a route for authorised vehicles only.

So, my daughter is wobbling around at around walking pace and I hear an engine approach, I am ready to muster the kids to the side of the 'road' which is just wider than a cars width, with this being a coastal access road I did check to see if it was a coastguard, lifeguard or emergency vehicle.

Obviously I hadn't done this quick enough as when I was explaining to my daughter not to panic the council owned land rover starts revving his engine, terrifying my four year old into a panic.

I stopped and explained to the driver that he was scaring the children and that I would move them over when I got an opportunity as every few hundred metres there are little laybys and we were coming quite close to one. I had turned around to talk to him and was facing away from my kids at this point. It was then that the imbecile driving the land rover started to drive past me and towards my children revving the engine again expecting a four year old child to take this subtle hint and uninstructed to stand out of his way.

I managed to pass his vehicle again and block him before he got too close to the children and I exchanged words with him. His attitude was that I shouldn't have been there and he was doing no wrong.

My attitude was that he was using the vehicle to intimidate my children.

And believe it or not it seems his purpose to drive down this 'road' was to take photographs of signage at the access points from the highways onto this 'road'

On a Sunday, on a bank holiday weekend. Possibly the busiest day of the year so far for people to on this particular stretch of road.

Should I complain or just put it down to experience?
[/rant]

 

[Aperitif]

Complain. It is not an 'experience' for children - it is a threat. For adults, he might have got a finger, possibly two for a similar attitude - although the <small b@11s rule> would have kicked in and he would have waited patiently - without a peep.
'The Council' work in co-operation with the community. Supposedly.

 

[buggi]

definitely complain. what a tw@t

 

[Gary D]

Definitely complain!!
This "jobs-worth" is a complete ar*e
He must have realised exactly the effect his actions were going to have on a small child. Tos*er

Did you get all of his details and were there any other witnesses?

Also, I thought that all Councils were supposed to be strapped for cash at the moment?
If so, why are they sending out some half-wit on Easter Sunday, being paid probably double or treble time, to do something that appears to be non-urgent, that could be done at anytime??

Let us know how you get on.

Gary.

 

[Dave5N]

Find out where he lives and graffitti his home.

 

[TWBNK]

Thanks for the replies.

Having just woken up from a lovely sleep I can now use a computer keyboard without feeling the table underneath and it is possible to concentrate without grinding my teeth. Having a clearer view on things I think I shall complain to the council. Yes I got his details and he was laughing when he suggested that I complain, probably because he is going to be the 'manager' that deals with the complaint.

I will write the letter tomorrow and send it in.

And today I am going to take the kids out again. And I am going to try to relax.

 

[puddleglum]

You should definiely, absolutely complain. What kind of person, never mind council employee gets off on intimidating little kids?

 

[badkitty]

Oh my. What goes on inside the mind of someone who does that...?

Drop this cretin in the biggest pile of dung you can possibly find. It'll still be too good for him. Ar$e.

 

[Arch]

I would cc the Chief Exceutive and also mention that you are thinking of contacting the local press.

+1 Maybe give them a deadline - if you haven't had a satisfactory reply from them in a week say, or 14 days, you'll be writing to the paper.

Keep the complaint to the point, and clear. You might want to acknowledge that you are aware of the rule about pushing cycles, but say that you are not aware that the council have any juristiction to enforce it with threats of violence or intimidation. I would say (I don't know for sure, but I think it's so) that any such rule would not apply to a 4 year old anyway. She happened to be on a bike, she could just have well have been on a scooter or sit on toy that is not considered to be a bike.