by fungus » Fri Jul 02, 2010 10:50 pm
This evening at about 6-15, I was accompanying a pupil whilst driving through the village where she lives. It is a medium sized village with narrow bendy streets, and cars parked randomly on either side of the road. We were approaching an acute junction to our left,(we were on the priority road). About 7 or 8 metres from the give way is a garden wall at 90 degrees to the road we were in. It connects to the road approaching from our left. There is then a small triangular green running up to the give way line.
There were two oncoming cars. As we were about to pass the garden wall that is at 90 to us, a bicycle wheel followed by a boy appeared from directly behind the wall. I hit the brakes and the pupil swerved to the right. There was a bang and the car came to a halt. The two oncoming cars stopped.
A lady from the first, who was a first aider, attended to the boy whilst the lady in the second car went to get the boys parents. I phoned for the Police and Ambulance. The boy who we found out is 13 years old fell, rather than being thrown or knocked off his bike, and landed at the side of the car on some gravel between the green and the road. From the damage sustained he had ridden into the front NS wheel, his handlebars twisting, and the RH brake lever contacting the front NS wing a few inches from the A pillar, causing a deep scratch and a dent in the wing. The bicycle had a buckled front wheel and a bent brake lever.
The boy sustained grazes, and probably bruising. The Police and Ambulance were called and the boy checked over. He was not taken to hospital and went home with his parents afterwards. Both my pupil and I were routinely breathalised, both giving a zero result. The Police stated that they had no further interest in the accident having satisfied themselves that no offence had been commited. They advised me to inform my insurance company in the morning and inform the boys parents as to what the insurance company advised.
I was relieved to see that the boy sustained nothing worse than cuts and bruises and a buckled wheel to his bicycle, but rather anoyed to think that I now have a repair bill to straighten out my wing, although I wonder whether it's worth it.
Nigel ADI
IAM observer