Some people's children

Corwyn · **on:** September 22, 2015, 12:09:39 AM

So... I was taking my 3-week baby girl to the doctor's office with my tiny fiat Punto. I was driving at maybe 30 Kilometers per hour, it was the second gear at medium throttle (sleeping baby, narrow, circulated road), when... POW a kid slams its bike into the car's wing...
Bike breaks in pieces, kid starts crying, than all the neighbours show up, then the ambulance, then the Traffic Police, then the Forensics Team...
So... take measurements, photos, fingerprints, go to the police station, give a 7-page statement, go to the emergency room to draw blood for alcohol... spend 2 hours among crazies until they filled 3 seringes to be sent to 3 different laboratories...
In the end the cops said it was definately not my fault as the kid slammed on the side of my car from a road with stop sign... he asked me if I want to press charges for damages ... I was "screw that, let's just hope the kid is fine..."
I go through pouring rain to the Children hospital to find out the kid had just a bump and was sent back home.
Also I found out it was the third time this year he had been hit by a car, when riding the bike. The last one being 10 meters from where this happened.
Also I saw that the bike was already broken from a previous crash and the bits were held together by a thin weldline.
Also there were 5 kids racing their bikes and they ran when he couldn't break and hit my car... I saw them an hour later racing again two blocks away
Also I told his father to do something about these accidents or the fourth might be the last... and he said "kids will be kids"

Seriously? I mean I am beyond happy that the kid is right and this just ended (well sort of, I will need to go back to the police to file more statements after the alcohol tests come), but all these people wasting so much time, the trauma, the stress... because some kid can't stop smashing into cars every few months and the parents aren't doing anything... I shudder to think if he was 2 seconds faster and landed in front of the car... he'd be dead, I'd be in jail and my kid would be dadless for a few years... sigh... $:-\$

kirk13 · **Reply #1 on:** September 22, 2015, 12:36:31 AM

On the positive,your all alright

On the other hand,it's just

jzmtl · **Reply #2 on:** September 22, 2015, 12:47:57 AM

Maybe you should've pressed charges, make the parents pay so they'll actually be motivated to control their hellspawn.

Aloha · **Reply #3 on:** September 22, 2015, 12:54:05 AM

Quote from: jzmtl on September 22, 2015, 12:47:57 AM

Maybe you should've pressed charges, make the parents pay so they'll actually be motivated to control their hellspawn.

This ^^

Glad to hear everyone is alright however it really needs to be stopped.

N_N_R · **Reply #4 on:** September 22, 2015, 07:50:38 AM

Jeez. Don't think in "if"s because this will only drive you crazy. Just keep driving reasonably like so far.

And yeah, the parents. How is that kid on a bike again after the first accident, anyway

lowtech · **Reply #5 on:** September 22, 2015, 08:24:49 AM

Thank god nothing serious happened and I hope you won´t have too much more hassle with this incident!
Some people just should not have kids.
I hope I will fare better trying to help my son become a decent, responsible person.

comis · **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2015, 09:00:41 AM

Quote from: Aloha007 on September 22, 2015, 12:54:05 AM

Quote from: jzmtl on September 22, 2015, 12:47:57 AM
Maybe you should've pressed charges, make the parents pay so they'll actually be motivated to control their hellspawn.

This ^^

Glad to hear everyone is alright however it really needs to be stopped.

+1

I probably would have done the same thing from the start, but I would seriously consider whether it is possible to do something after that interview with the parents. Playing ignorance and allowing repeating accidents to happen is both irresponsible to his kid and other road users. My worst fear is one day if that kid is driving a car or truck, will he be carrying that same reckless and inconsiderate attitude towards road safety?

And I totally agree with you that if he were to be few seconds faster, should your kid bare the chance of growing up dadless all because of his recklessness(and his parents' responsibilities)?

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #7 on:** September 22, 2015, 09:14:12 AM

I'm glad you came out of it OK, despite all the inconvenience and stress. Sounds like you might have met a future Darwin Award winner there.

Let's hope his next calamaties are with inanimate objects and don't ruin the lives of other people by shifting blame on them

Gareth · **Reply #8 on:** September 22, 2015, 09:29:39 AM

Glad to hear you and the kid are OK. Yes, this one is on the kid's parents. Until he is 16 then they are responsible for his actions, and they are responsible for what happens to him if they let poor choices and behavior become a pattern.

The reason the parents get all the responsibility is that KIDS AREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES!!

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #9 on:** September 22, 2015, 09:34:24 AM

From a legal perspective, I'd agree. However, I've known kids whose decision making processes I'd trust way more than their parents (a reflection of both individuals there)

Gareth · **Reply #10 on:** September 22, 2015, 09:48:50 AM

Quote from: 50ft-trad on September 22, 2015, 09:34:24 AM

From a legal perspective, I'd agree. However, I've known kids whose decision making processes I'd trust way more than their parents (a reflection of both individuals there)

Oh I agree with you there, but riding your bike into the side of a car three times in a year rather supports my position in this case.

Corwyn · **Reply #11 on:** September 22, 2015, 10:12:20 AM

Well they did say the second time it happened it was "mostly" the driver's fault

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #12 on:** September 22, 2015, 10:21:39 AM

Quote from: Gareth on September 22, 2015, 09:48:50 AM

Quote from: 50ft-trad on September 22, 2015, 09:34:24 AM
From a legal perspective, I'd agree. However, I've known kids whose decision making processes I'd trust way more than their parents (a reflection of both individuals there)

Oh I agree with you there, but riding your bike into the side of a car three times in a year rather supports my position in this case.

Oh, I completely agree in this case, and suspect the hospital will be seeing that kid again in the future ....

rebel · **Reply #13 on:** September 22, 2015, 11:52:32 AM

Wow what a horrible story. Very upsetting you had to go through all that but maybe their thoroughness was part of exonerating you beyond any doubt. I cringe to think what would have happened if you had a few beers beforehand. Even though it wasn't your fault that would have been enough to make it your fault.

I had a neighbor once who's teenage son habitually crashed every vehicle they allowed him to drive. I mean like weekly. He probably started out doing it on his bike and nobody realized how it would end up. If it's not too late to file for damages it might help to hold his parents accountable and get him some lessons in bicycle safety and good road manners or eventually he probably will get himself killed at somebody else's expense.

Whoey · **Reply #14 on:** September 22, 2015, 12:08:31 PM

There's nothing I hate more when driving than cyclists.

Here we have extra wide sidewalks, and for the most part most cyclists in the city use those to get around. This is fine for the most part (unless you're walking, and end up nearly run down by a cyclist who doesn't seem to grasp the idea of sharing... or in reverse where the epicly poorly marked "bike lane" is regularly invaded by oblivious pedestrians) with the exceptions of cross walks. There are a lot of crosswalks, many without any traffic lights, especially around round-a-bouts. It's hard enough trying to read pedestrian minds as they seem undecided to cross... vs damn cyclists shooting out of nowhere across the crosswalks... without looking.

I'd say only about 1/25 has the decency to walk their bike across, giving the road traffic a chance to stop. Another additional flaw to this seems to be people frequently stopped/double parked in these areas, obscuring the view, or the collection of garbage bins placed next to the crossing obscuring the view as well.

WhichDawg · **Reply #15 on:** September 22, 2015, 01:18:55 PM

I'm so glad you and your child are alright

press charges! lock this crazy family up! don't let them do this to another person and maybe the previous people can still press charges too!(if they knew this madness was continuing) Class action lawsuit! call the news stations, get public opinion on your side.

ohh and make them pay for that special multitool you lost during the accident (I remember you talking about how much you loved it and how expensive it was) make em pay!!

at the very least talk to a speSmurfpillst and get some good legal advice.

Mike 56 · **Reply #16 on:** September 22, 2015, 03:27:06 PM

Corwyn, You obviously have your priorities straight. People matter more than things in time things can be replaced people can't. We live in a time common courtesy is not all that common any more. Manners and being accountable are not being thought at home. I would press charges if his parents have pay for what their child has done maybe they care little more about what their kids are doing.