Young cyclist killed



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In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>"Brian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>> This really breaks my heart..... http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7751843.htm
>
>Breaks my heart too. I want to know why a child that young was outside unsupervised by an adult?

And why they weren't at the nearby park, as stated in the article, instead of playing in the street.
Speed bumps are no substitute for proper supervision of a child.
--------------
Alex
 
On 22 Jan 2004 04:12:42 -0800, [email protected] (R.White) wrote:

>I want to know why a child that young was outside unsupervised by an adult?

I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having a
parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
24 Jan 2004 05:01:58 GMT,
<[email protected]>, [email protected] (Hunrobe) wrote:

>>"Just zis Guy, you know?" [email protected]
>
>wrote:
>>I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having a
>>parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?
>>
>
>Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
>outside their home unsupervised, period.
>

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7760303.htm

The later article claims he was four and that his eight year old brother was among those who
witnessed his death.

The vehicle and its driver were both in violation of numerous infractions as soon as that truck hit
the road. It shouldn't have been there and wouldn't have been there if said laws were enforced.
--
zk
 
On 24 Jan 2004 05:01:58 GMT, [email protected] (Hunrobe) wrote:

>Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
>outside their home unsupervised, period.

I'm glad I live in a country where a three year old can play with other kids without the need for
constant parental supervision.

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
>>Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
>>outside their home unsupervised, period.

>I'm glad I live in a country where a three year old can play with other kids without the need for
>constant parental supervision.

I'm in agreement with Bob, this could have been prevented. Based on the article they run it fast and
loose in "far south Fort Worth".

Wherever that may be. I'm reading into the article, but the LEO's statements indicate that things
are being taken care of in the usual worldly manner.

The death of a child is a tragic thing, the maybes and ifs will haunt the parent(s) forever. I can
relate to this.

It's a drama in the passing parade, however, in the larger sense.

So, Guy, close your eyes and think of England, I'm sure American toddlers will continue to
cycle unsafely.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email protected]__________
 
On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 06:32:26 -0500, "Eric S. Sande" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>>>Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
>>>outside their home unsupervised, period.
>
>>I'm glad I live in a country where a three year old can play with other kids without the need for
>>constant parental supervision.
>
>I'm in agreement with Bob, this could have been prevented.

Sure. By not letting the unlicensed driver get in the truck, for example.

>So, Guy, close your eyes and think of England, I'm sure American toddlers will continue to cycle
>unsafely.

ANd this morning I'm trying to buy a new bike for my seven-year-old. Hard work - they all seem to be
made of an alloy of steel and depleted uranium.

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 24 Jan 2004 05:01:58 GMT, [email protected] (Hunrobe) wrote:
>
> >Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
> >outside their home unsupervised, period.
>
> I'm glad I live in a country where a three year old can play with other kids without the need for
> constant parental supervision.
>

Cultural differences have nothing to do with a child darting into traffic.

I doubt english parents have more influence over their 3 y.o.'s ability to recognise a hazardous
situation.
 
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 22 Jan 2004 04:12:42 -0800, [email protected] (R.White) wrote:
>
> >I want to know why a child that young was outside unsupervised by an adult?
>
> I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having a
> parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?

Pretty simple. My 4 y.o isn't allowed to play near the street. He's not outside unsupervised. That
way I know he's nowhere near traffic. My comment has absolutly nothing to do with the unlicensed
driver. We had a an unsupervised 5 y.o. killed here a few years back by a licensed driver. The
license or lack of it had nothing to do with a mother sleeping on the couch (as in our local case)
while her child played near the road.

It's not about drivers, it's about responsible parenting.
 
[email protected] (Hunrobe) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> >"Just zis Guy, you know?" [email protected]
>
> wrote:
> >I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having a
> >parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?
> >
>
> Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
> outside their home unsupervised, period.

This incident makes me think of a lot of things--first and foremost, that even 3-4-5 yr. olds can be
taught to NEVER run out the end of a driveway without stopping & looking first. This is the #1 way
young kids are killed on bikes. Speaking from experience, it is quite possible to teach the average
3 or 4 yr old to stop and look EVERY time. Just like it is possible to teach them to never play with
electrical plugs. Sure, there will never be 100% compliance at that age. But there will be pretty
darn good compliance. But most parents don't know the importance of this, so they don't even try.

But even more than that, IMHO, we need to take back our neighborhood streets. People, not cars, live
in neighborhoods.

People do a number of things in their neighborhoods. One of those things is driving automobiles to
go somewhere. For the 1/4 mile or so it takes to get out of a neighborhood and onto bigger/faster
streets, it is quite feasible for cars to drive at a speed that is **completely** compatible with
the other human activities that go on where we live.

Some countries do this--design their neighborhoods and cities on a human scale and with people, not
automobiles, as the design imperative--and the quality of life in such places is much higher, the
accident rates much lower.

There is no reason under the sun for a garbage truck to be going down a residential street, where
kids are known to play, at a speed higher than about 8 MPH.

It's interesting that Guy mentioned the much better situation in the UK than in the US.
Transportation revoluationary Mayer Hillman, from the UK, had these interesting and
provocative thoughts:

--
Road intersections should be raised to pavement level to give priority
to pedestrians . . . in 1971, 80% of seven- and eight-year-old
children went to school on their own, by 1990 only 9% were making the
journey unaccompanied, with more than four times as many seven- to
11-year-olds being driven in 1990 compared with 20 years earlier . . .
[the] view that the roads are safer because the accident rate has gone
down is deeply flawed . . . Quite the opposite. Child road deaths have
fallen because there aren't many children near them any more. . .
.Children's lives have been evolving in a way that mirrors the
characteristics of the lives of criminals in prison. They, too, have a
roof over their heads, regular meals and entertainment provided for
them, but they are not free to go out. . . . Fifty years ago, cycle
mileage exceeded car mileage. Now it's the other way around. While
most children own a bicycle, few are allowed to use it as a means of
transport . . . Compared with walking, bicycling has the potential to
expand a person's geographical catchment area 10- to 15-fold . . . A
new Danish road traffic act in 1976 made it the police and traffic
authority's responsibility, in consultation with schools, to protect
children from traffic on their way to and from school. They created a
network of traffic-free foot and cycle paths, established low-speed
areas, narrowed roads and introduced traffic islands. Accidents fell
by 85%. In Denmark, more than 20% of all journeys are made by bicycle
. . . for every life year lost through accidents [while bicycling], 20
are gained through improved health and fitness.

Excerpts from an article in The Guardian, Nov 2, 2002. See
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,823111,00.html
--

--Brent
bhugh [at] mwsc.edu
www.MoBikeFed.org
 
On 24 Jan 2004 11:09:41 -0800, [email protected] (Brent Hugh) wrote:

> Transportation revoluationary Mayer Hillman, from
> the UK, had these interesting and provocative thoughts:

If you think Mayer is provocative wait 'till you read Bob Davis ;-)

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
On 24 Jan 2004 08:26:23 -0800, [email protected] (R.White) wrote:

>Cultural differences have nothing to do with a child darting into traffic. I doubt english parents
>have more influence over their 3 y.o.'s ability to recognise a hazardous situation.

Nope, but the roads are rather quieter and the chances of finding an unlicensed truck operator in a
residential neighbourhood are aboput zero.

That wasn't really what I was getting at, though. Bob originally suggested that *no* three-year-old
should be allowed out without adult supervision. That was the point at which I decided that perhaps
my neighbourhood is safer than his.

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:eek:[email protected]...
> On 24 Jan 2004 08:26:23 -0800, [email protected] (R.White) wrote:
>
> >Cultural differences have nothing to do with a child darting into
traffic.
> >I doubt english parents have more influence over their 3 y.o.'s ability to recognise a hazardous
> >situation.
>
> Nope, but the roads are rather quieter and the chances of finding an unlicensed truck operator in
> a residential neighbourhood are aboput zero.
>
> That wasn't really what I was getting at, though. Bob originally suggested that *no* three-year-
> old should be allowed out without adult supervision. That was the point at which I decided that
> perhaps my neighbourhood is safer than his.

There are many different levels of 'residential neighborhood'. Some, there'd be no problem in
letting a little kid walk across the cul-de-sac to a friends house. Others, I would be loath to let
a 12 year old out by himself.

And in no case should an unlicensed driver be out cruising around, much less 'on the job'.

Pete
 
On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:30:51 GMT, "Pete" <[email protected]> wrote:

> in no case should an unlicensed driver be out cruising around, much less 'on the job'.

I wonder if the employer will end up in court?

Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On 22 Jan 2004 04:12:42 -0800, [email protected] (R.White) wrote:
>
> >I want to know why a child that young was outside unsupervised by an adult?
>
> I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having a
> parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?

No, but I'll bet the 3-year-old would not have been in the road on a bike he couldn't ride.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> [email protected] (Hunrobe) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > >"Just zis Guy, you know?" [email protected]
> >
> > wrote:
> > >I want to know why it's no longer safe for a group of kids to be out unsupervised. Would having
> > >a parent there have made the unlicensed driver any safer?
> > >
> >
> > Guy, read the article. The child was THREE years old. Three year olds do not belong anywhere
> > outside their home unsupervised, period.
>
> This incident makes me think of a lot of things--first and foremost, that even 3-4-5 yr. olds can
> be taught to NEVER run out the end of a driveway without stopping & looking first. This is the #1
> way young

5 yes, but I would never trust s 3yr old to check. 4 would depend on the kid.

> kids are killed on bikes. Speaking from experience, it is quite possible to teach the average 3 or
> 4 yr old to stop and look EVERY time. Just like it is possible to teach them to never play with
> electrical plugs. Sure, there will never be 100% compliance at that age. But there will be pretty
> darn good compliance. But most parents don't know the importance of this, so they don't even try.

....

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
 
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