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Original poster

Six year old cycled into couple

219 replies

Itwasntme1 · 12/05/2020 20:02

I wondered if anyone has seen the footage of the sox year old who cycled into the couple walking the dog.

Interested in views on it. I assume the child didn’t know how to stop, so she ploughed on through the couple.

None of the adults covered themselves in glory. The dad should have stoped her and then stopped filming to comfort her. The couple should have checked she was okay, and the man should absolutely not have kicked her bike.

Not in any way excusing the dreadful behaviour of the horrible man, but surely most parents would have caught up with her and told her to wait. He didn’t even know if the couple heard.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/man-kicks-terrified-six-year-22013795

OP posts:
ChardonnaysPetDragon · 12/05/2020 20:38

The child just crashed into the couple from behind.

The father was out of order.

BikeRunSki · 12/05/2020 20:40

Dad is confusing “child’s ability to ride in a straight line” with “child’s ability to ride on a narrow path with other users a on it”.

No one was right here.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 12/05/2020 20:40

Terrible parenting. The father appears to have caused the situation then purposely escalated it.

Excuse me is a request, not a command. He should have held his daughter back.

I do feel for the child.

QuixoticQuokka · 12/05/2020 20:41

She was still pedalling towards them, not just coasting unable to stop. Her father should have told her to stop, it looked like she went to put her foot down once but him saying 'excuse me' likely made her think she should keep going. The child may have misjudged the gap but her father should have told her to stop or ran and stopped the bike himself. I would have called out for my child to stop in the same situation at the age of three, a six year old should have been taught to give way to pedestrians.

DahliaDay · 12/05/2020 20:47

@malteserdiet.....it would have been an adult doing it had the girl got through successfully

what does everyone think would have happened if she had got through? would dad have barged through too? was that his intention?

Lunawuna · 12/05/2020 20:49

Is nobody able to make an innocent mistake anymore? Is a child not allowed the benefit of doubt for misjudging a gap that opened up between the couple just before she fell off?

I believe the point is that the child isn't responsible in this situation, the supervising adult is. The onus was on the dad to get his daughter to stop, or slow down, or at the very least, not go cycling right up behind someone and into a non-existent gap.

No blame on the child whatsoever.

ScreamingBeans · 12/05/2020 20:49

All the adults are cunts.

WhatsTheFrequencyKennneth · 12/05/2020 20:50

"The child just crashed into the couple from behind.

The father was out of order."

Exactly this. Easily preventable situation and surely just common sense to say to your child to wait until its safe, CV19 or not.

icansmellburningleaves · 12/05/2020 20:51

The kid rode into the back of the adults. The man shouldn’t have kicked the bike. The father of the kid shouldn’t have just assumed they would get out of the way. Poor all round really.

ElizaCrouch · 12/05/2020 20:52

Maybe the couple didn't hear her. I have very poor hearing. Its unlikely I would have heard someone calling for me to get out of the way. Do I deserve to be hit by the bike for that? Tbh I don't blame the guy for kicking the bike, I expect he really wanted to kick the dad. And whilst he's standing there filming that, his child is lying crying on the ground. He should have told the child to stop before she got anywhere near. And if she's not good enough on her bike to do that then she shouldnt be on the path.

Frage · 12/05/2020 20:52

The child was only six and was merely acting on/copying her entitled father's instructions/approach.

The father behaved very, very badly and should have been apologising to the walkers and looking after his daughter, not filming the episode.

I am a cyclist, and shouting "excuse me" at pedestrians is simply not acceptable. If I'm behind pedestrians on a shared footpath/cycle track (there are lots of these where I live), I just slow down to walking pace so as not to force the pedestrians into the undergrowth. There will always come a point where I can safely overtake them.

user1497207191 · 12/05/2020 20:53

No one comes out of this looking good, but the blame lies squarely with the girl's father. He should have told her to hold back, not plough on regardless.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 12/05/2020 20:54

The father was in the wrong. He should have told his daughter to wait.

ABucketOfShells · 12/05/2020 20:57

I don’t think the man in the couple did anything wrong? It’s not like the girl was on the bike. I think that’s a reasonable reaction. Someone just rode into him on it! I imagine most would be a lot more angry than he was.
Father behaved awfully. Was filming why? Waiting for confrontation? I’ve met men like him, you can tell in the manor he speaks. He specifically told her to carry on, which is even worse than not telling her to stop.

Whenwillthisbeover · 12/05/2020 20:57

What if the walkers had a hearing impairment, I blame dad of daughter for not holding his snowflake back and assuming she had the right of way.

daisypond · 12/05/2020 20:58

The dad was clearly in the wrong. You don’t shout excuse me or ring your bell at people! It is rude. What if the pedestrians were deaf? They weren’t in this case, but he didn’t know that.

JacobReesMogadishu · 12/05/2020 20:58

The father is a total bellend.

Maybe the couple genuinely didn’t hear. I cycle and it’s not uncommon for people to not hear. If that means I have to stop then I stop. Kid and dad would be better with bells, as legally required. Pedestrians hear a bell more than an “excuse me” which they possibly just didn’t register.

Kid should not have attempted to squeeze through and dad should have stopped this. Especially with current social distancing. If kid can’t stop (though didn’t look like she tried) she shouldnt be on a shared use path until she can control herself better.

Dad should have comforted his kid after she fell off, not escalated the situation by ranting at the couple while ignoring the kid. Poor parenting. He should also have said sorry to the bloke his kid cycled into.

Other bloke shouldn’t have kicked the bike but I can understand him being pissed off by the dad’s bad attitude.

HopeYouStepOnALego · 12/05/2020 20:59

Years ago I was walking my dog in the local park. The footpath was on a steep incline and also twisted round on itself. I was heading up the path when this young child, about 4 or 5 came hurtling round the corner on his bike, out of sight of his dad, and narrowly missed crashing into my dog. In my shock I angrily shouted "watch out!" and the dad, who had then caught up, had a right go at me and said "he's only little, he's learning to ride his bike". I suggested not having a lesson on a steep incline until he had been taught how to use his brakes. Needless to say I got another mouthful for that comment.

Speakeasy22 · 12/05/2020 20:59

The father is at fault. The child is not in control of the bike and shouting excuse me is not sufficient.

Saladmakesmesad · 12/05/2020 21:01

I'm so glad to read this! I saw it on FB earlier and all the comments were about the 'awful' couple, and I was there thinking they did nothing wrong except get cycled into from behind! (Yes he shouldn't have vented his temper, but it wasn't much of a kick anyway.)

Schoenes · 12/05/2020 21:02

Kid sounded hysterical screeching like a maniac.

Mindmedley · 12/05/2020 21:02

Totally the dads fault, who actively encourages their child to ride into other pedestrians! The poor couple clearly hadn’t heard, it’s not like they looked round and saw the bike then stood and blocked the bath. Innocently walking along and then hit with a bike.

Maryann1975 · 12/05/2020 21:02

I saw this on fb this morning. I couldn’t believe that no one was blaming the parent for not stopping his child. When mine were 6 I spent the majority of every bike ride yelling instructions at the dc to get them to watch out for people/objects etc. I still do it a bit now and the youngest is 9!

The couples reaction was dreadful, but the dad should be really embarrassed about not protecting his daughter to start with.

JacobReesMogadishu · 12/05/2020 21:02

Did she ring her bell? I missed that as well! Grin. The couple certainly did. Bell ringing normally works better than calling ahead but if people don’t hear they don’t hear.

I normally ring my bell, but sometimes people complain I ve made them jump. But if I call they don’t always hear me. Then they tell me off for not using a bell. Grin but I’m always polite and hang back until they notice me even if I’m there for ages.

I’ve now got a light with a built in horn which is horrendously loud and I’m too embarrassed to use it!