Furious driver calls for ‘number plates on bikes’ after filming cyclist mother leading ‘five-year-old son on bike down middle of busy road on daily school run’
- Driver posted picture of woman appearing to lead young son in middle of road
- Mother and child seem to weave between parked vehicle and stationary car
- Picture was posted in response to debate on Jeremy Vine show about cyclists
- Twitter users including Surrey Police and Mr Vine say woman is not in the wrong
A furious driver has called for cyclists to have to wear number plates after filming a mother appearing to lead her young son on a bike down the middle of a road on the school run.
The picture appears to show a young boy of around five or six following his mother on his bike between parked cars and a stationary vehicle.
At the point of the picture being taken the boy’s right arm is very close to a car as the driver indicates right to move into a parking space.
To the left of the mother and son are more parked cars and there appears to be no cars in front of the stationary silver Toyota Yaris.
Dougie McPherson, a Glasgow taxi driver replied to a post by Jeremy Vine, which included a clip of a debate on ‘dangerous cyclist’ from his Channel 5 show today.
The picture posted on Twitter appears to show a woman leading her son in the road between parked vehicles on the left and a stationary car indicating right
Mr McPherson complained the woman was putting her child in danger by leading him into the road
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The clip showed broadcaster Jasmine Dotiwala saying ‘cyclists are just as dangerous to human life as cars are’ and should have number plates.
She added: ‘We’ve all seen cyclists jump the red lights, seen them swerve dangerously in and out of cars, why should they also not be accountable?’
Mr Vine added: ‘Of the 1,700 people who die on the roads each year, 99.9 per cent are killed by motor vehicles.’
She highlighted the death of Kim Briggs who was killed when she was hit by a bicycle courier Charlie Alliston in 2016, who was travelling at 18mph on a fixed-wheel bike with no front brakes.
He was jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of the Victorian offence of causing bodily harm by ‘wanton and furious driving’ and her widower has since called for new road safety legislation to protect pedestrians.
The picture was posted in response to Jeremy Vine’s tweet of a debate on his show about whether cyclists are as dangerous as cars
In response to a tweet of a clip from the show, Mr McPherson posted alongside a picture of the mother and child: ‘Mother and child. This is how they travel every day. Mother leads and 5/6 year old follows. Again st one ways. On pavements .Number plates should be on parents bike to allow prosecution. ‘
Twitter users and cyclists rushed to the woman’s defence.
Mark Treasure tweeted: ‘The state of this. The absolute state of this. To look at this photograph and think the people cycling are the problem. Jesus.’
To which Jeremy Vine, who is also a keen cyclist who often posts clips of his own encounters with drivers, responded: ‘I know. I just defies any kind of response.’
A women responded to Mr Vine: ‘As a cyclist myself, I find this parent irresponsible, if (and I hope it never happens) the child slips as a car is pulling away and ends up under the wheels, the mother would be very quick to blame the driver. When, in fact she would be to blame, she is being careless.’
Another added: ‘We need better cycle lanes but I am aghast at anyone permitting a child under 9 to cycle on a road like this. Kids haven’t got ‘Road sense’ until at least 8. How does mum know where the child is if they’re behind her.’
Some Twitter users, including Mr Vine, rushed to the defence of the woman, saying she had done nothing wrong
Another Twitter user added: ‘Really Jeremy? I would definitely not let my daughter ride her bike at that age through the rush hour traffic !! You’re absolutely wrong on this one.’
A tweet in reply said: ‘Oh come on Jeremy. Why would any reasonable parent put their child at this much risk….regardless of who’s fault the accident was.’
Last year he became embroiled in a road rage row with driver Shanique Pearson which led to her being jailed for nine months.
Others criticised Mr McPherson for taking a picture whist behind the wheel, with one saying: ‘Stop using your phone in the car Dougie you dangerous fool.’
But other Twitter users backed Mr McPherson and said the youngster would be better off in the back of a car.
One added: ‘Yes that’s right and her defenceless child would be safely strapped in the back, happy to live another day. Sorry but the mother is being reckless.
‘I’d rather that than have my daughter squashed between a car and a lorry. It’s common sense!!’
Surrey Roads Police even joined the debate and said as the car was stationary, officers could not see she had done anything wrong
Another added: ‘So you’d be happy letting your kid cycle behind you on a busy road? I’m all for folks cycling but holly waters this is just bloody irresponsible.’
Mark Lissaman said: ‘I have 2 daughters aged 4 & 6 who cycle & are very aware of the dangers motorists pose to them. We don’t know why they’re on the road at that point, they might be crossing over? We don’t know what instructions the mother has given the child? occasionally they have to go on the rd.’
Surrey Roads Police said officers ‘can’t really see that any one in the photo is doing anything wrong’ as the vehicle appears to have stopped.
A spokesman tweeted from the force’s official account in response to the post: ‘Well. As a still photo we would have to ask what is it showing? Is the car in front stopped? the break lights are on, is the youngster moving off, steadying their self or even falling off? Is the car breaking as it close passes? The answer is we can’t possibly tell.
‘The question of filtering. Well as long as done safely there is nothing wrong with it. We are glad to see a parent confident enough to cycle in the road with their child. I can’t really see that any one in the photo is doing anything wrong as I suggest the car is stopped…
‘To allow the pedestrian to cross ahead. It does look like the picture was taken by the driver of a car that we of course do not condone.’
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