Kids on bikes.

This afternoon (a couple of blocks from home in Sandy Beach) I nearly hit a kid on a bike. He sailed, downhill, out of a T-intersection, in front of me, and I had to hit the brakes hard.

No helmet. And as I discovered when I got out to give him a lecture - his brakes did not work!

He was teary. (I was shakey. And mad.). "I could have killed you! For starters, where is your helmet?" (He said he forgot it and was going home to get it.)

"And the road rules! If you are going to ride a bike on the road, you have to know what you are supposed to do!! You were coming out of that T-intersection. You were supposed to slow down or stop to check for cars!"

Him, with a tear running down his face. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was trying to stop."

His brakes did not work.

I asked for his name, but he was too incoherent. My daughter with me recognised him from school. She thinks he is only going into Year 3 this year which puts him at about 8 yrs old!!

I told him, for heaven's sakes, to get his parents to fix the brakes on his bike! And to ALWAYS wear a helmet. I hope he was shaken enough to say something once he got home, but chances are, of course, he might be too scared to tell his parents.

My daughters thought they knew his last name (from the school bus) but I was unable to locate them in the phone directory. I wanted to let his parents know how close he came to being injured. Or killed. Mind you, I don't know what sort of reaction I would have got. How do you essentially rail at another parent that they are irresponsible for letting their 8 year old ride a defective bike, with no helmet?

As those BUG members who assisted on the Bike Week Schools rides will attest, he would not be the only one. I lose count of the number of kids, teenagers, and adults I see riding around with no helmets.

The local primary school did hold a "Bike Safety Day" last term, but frankly I can't see that it really does anything to teach kids how to ride safely on the streets. It doesn't get bikes (and brakes in particular) maintained - particularly if the parents don't know how to do it. I'd hazard a guess that most of the kids' bikes being used have been bought from Big W or the like (because of the cheaper price) and thus there is no follow-up service available as there would be through a Local Bike Shop.

I don't know what the answer is, because you are not going to change purchasing habits. I do, however, intend to follow this up with the school, and discuss ways we can get more bike safety through to the kids AND parents.

Perhaps there is a role for the BUG, local bikes shops and council.

Tracey Schmidt