Bike vs truck

[kimikaw]

Wishes to Nell for a speedy recovery!

Same to you...seeing your child get in an accident like that has to be terrifying/horrifying. So glad it sounds like the injuries aren't too bad, and that she'll be home soon.

[jessmarimba]

Seeing the age of the driver...he was probably just clueless as far as how to deal with bikes on the road. How to read them, what to look for, what you're doing when you take the lane, and even what a signal looks like from a cyclist. He's also probably not a good judge of speed yet - yours or his own. I'm sure he'll take a big lesson away from this. I just hope his parents or his insurance don't try to turn it against you guys.

I hope you and Nell are doing better!

[crazycanuck]

Holy Sheep!

I wish your daughter a speedy(yet careful) recovery.

[jelee1311]

My heart goes out to you,I read your post and cried. I ride with my 9 yr old daughter and I cannot imagine seeing her hit I'm sorry. You seem very calm and forgiving I'm not sure I could feel the same way so soon afterwards. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your daughter

[Catrin]

OH MY, I am not a parent and can only imagine what this must have been like to have to watch. I hope Nell has a quick recovery and there are no problems with bruising - the fracture sounds bad enough. Sending healing thoughts to both of you!

[Crankin]

I hope Nell is feeling better.
You probably have a good feel for what actually happened. But, an accident is an accident... it sounds like the young, inexperienced driver contributed a good deal to this, no matter what you or your daughter did. Most adults don't know what to do where a bike is concerned.
Oak, I do the same thing when I am turning left! My friend calls it the "mean schoolteacher finger." I signal forever and wag and shake, pointing my finger, to emphasize my intent to turn. Sometimes I am actually shaking my whole arm.

[Melalvai]

They ended up keeping her an extra day. This morning they say discharge today! Not eating yet but it's been several hours since she last threw up.

I don't know about calm & forgiving, but I know the driver's aunt.

I know that even with all this bicycling is still a safe mode of transportation and the health benefits vs safety. But it's going to be difficult to bike on that road again. And difficult for me to bike with her on any road. Of course the road is the one that our house is on. No way to avoid it!

I am going to get her bike fixed and get a new helmet. Then I will tell her, once she is able to, that she needs to get back on her bike right away no matter how scary it is, so that she won't be traumatized for life and never be able to get on a bike again. Not on that road--we'll go to a trail.

I'll have to think about how I want to present certain info when we teach the bike class in the spring. I was taught, and I believe & teach this, that since only 3% of collisions involve an overtaking car that we should be more concerned about traffic in front of us. I've also told students that it is different on rural roads, that overtaking cars are more of a concern than on urban roads. I guess my feeling now is to emphasize that difference more.

My neighbor said he's going to talk to City Council about how to get the speed limit lowered on that road. There's a lot of runners, hikers, dog walkers and cyclists there. I've always been concerned about the 55 mph speed limit since we moved here in June.