To think this is actually really entitled parenting?

[GlummyMcGlummerson]

Seen this post from several people this morning outraged at the walking couple

www.facebook.com/672995864/posts/10158029908925865/?d=n

Now I am in no way condoning the disgusting language of the man in question. But the dad showed such an entitled attitude. He didn't tell his DD to slow down even when she was on the heels of the couple. She could have hurt them if they'd been elderley or disabled, and you can't tell from behind. He didn't practice social distancing - even if the couple had moved they'd have been way less than 2m apart from them, unless they threw themselves into a bush. And when his DD fell off the bike, rather than comfort her he spent the time arguing with and blaming the couple while she cried on the floor.

I've taken my kids to paths like this during lockdown and have said if someone is walking ahead we have to walk behind them with the bikes until we can pass them safely or the paths get wider. This is while teaching them to cycle, and just because they have momentum it doesn't mean they shouldn't stop - surely that's part of learning to cycle, knowing when to judge the safety of themselves and others?

I suppose i also hate this trend of social media vigilantism whereby people want to share faces of those who've slighted them, usually with a huge amount of bias and very little context. And the general public seem to lap it up! I am hard of hearing and I hate cyclists coming up behind me when I walk as unless they bellow "excuse me" I simply will not hear them. I wouldn't be pleased if a child bashed into me and then I got yelled at by the parent for not having good hearing and eyes in the back of my head.

I've been knocked down by a bike. When I was a student, I was crossing a main road. Cars had stopped at the lights so I went ahead and crossed. A young lad came whizzing down the hill on his bike and didnt stop, ploughed right into me. I wasn't hurt really and even laughed at daft it looked and how mortifying it was to be knocked down by a kid on a bike!

The Dad is a total knob,

He behaved appallingly on the path and as badly when he got home, posting it on SM, whining to the press and snivelling to the police.

Pathetic.

I hope some of his friends are MNrrs and he sees this thread.

He owes his poor Dd an apology for putting her in a horrible upsetting situation.

Are you really saying that if I come up behind you I have to wait behind you until it ends?

Rather like a car has to wait behind a cyclist if they come up behind them with no place to pass.

I've watched it too many times and a few things struck me.

At the very start, the dad didn't acknowledge or thank the runner who stood in the bushes to let them pass.

He only said excuse me twice. The first time was from quite far away. When the couple dont react/hear, he tells his daughter to keep going 🤷‍♀️ so she keeps going but starts to wobble a bit and make panicky noises as its clear shes going to hit the pedestrians, but has been told to carry on.

The second time dad says excuse me, its far too late anyway. The crash itself must have been really horrible for the girl, but quite a shock for the male pedestrian.

Its mind blowing that the dads first instinct wasnt to apologise or to check on his daughter, but to start on the guy with a blatant lie "I said excuse me loads of times" the dad then changes his story and claims it was his daughter who said excuse me loads of times.

What I cant work out is whether this was filmed with a helmet cam or a phone. Most helmet cam footage is landscape so I assumed it was phone at first, but on rewatching I think maybe the motion looks like he was cycling too?

If he was filming with his phone, then I really start to feel for pedestrian. You get knocked into by a kid and then the dad starts filming you while pushing for a row. That's incredibly aggressive.

Then the lack of self awareness to phone police and post on facebook. Mind blowing.

The path is a multi use path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. All 3 going at different speeds. It is all users’ responsibility to understand that the path is multi use and to remain alert for others users on the path, and remain vigilant to allow cyclists and horse riders past. The path is wide enough to allow walkers to walk in single file to facilitate this.

The little girl is only 6 and accidents happen. There is definitely an intolerance to children on this thread. The couple walking ahead had a responsibility to allow the child and her father past, given that the path is multi use. The father and child made their presence known. The couple would also have had to move aside for a horse rider in the same circumstances. If you don’t want to move aside to allow others to pass then this is not the path for you.

If the concern is lack of social distancing, then don’t chose to walk your dog along a 1.5 mile path, narrow at times, and absolutely designated for the use of cyclists and horse riders, as well as for those walking, if you don’t intend to remain alter for other users requiring to pass by. Again, this is not the path for you.

You are assuming that they heard the father making their presence known.

Their reaction would suggest they did not.

As a multi user path then the onus is on people approaching from behind to ensure the people in front of them know of their presence before proceeding. That isn’t hard.

It doesn’t give anyone the right to force their way through. Multi use or not.

Why would you even post this on social media? Now the papers have picked it up yet the comments on their articles arent exactly supportive of the dad so it backfired a little.
The whole publically shaming is daft. Yes it wasnt good you would move from it not me omg let's shame these people.

As a multi user path then the onus is on people approaching from behind to ensure the people in front of them know of their presence before proceeding. That isn’t hard

No, it’s not hard. But the person in question was a 6 year old child. Who was making her presence known. It would be different if it was the father who crashed into the couple. But it was a little 6 year old. Big deal. Accidents happen. There was no malice in her actions. Which is more than can be said for the idiot who kicked her bicycle.

And actually, the onus is on ALL users to be vigilant on the path. Walkers aren’t exempt. Again, if you don’t want to move aside to allow other users to pass, then this is not the path for you.

The child could not have passed the couple with a 2m social distance however many times the father said "Excuse me". Kicking the bike was unkind and unnecessary but in every other respect the couple were in the right.

I haven't noticed anyone having a go at the child Iseeareddoor, people are pointing out that the father should have done a better job guiding her. And he should!

Going grief. I’ve done lots of cycling with young DC as I have 4 with big age gaps and always shout to them to slow down and wait after ringing their bell if there are people walking in front. It’s a footpath not a cycle path. The couple walking seemed genuinely not to have noticed a kid was riding up their arses and it wasn’t up to them to be alert for it either.

I would have been horrified if my kid had hit someone and a normal reaction would have been to be profusely apologetic while sorting out the kid to check for injuries. Not gobbing off to complete strangers who did nothing wrong.

The Dad is an absolute arsehole. I bet he’s the type who runs red lights when cycling on the road and drives a car (probably an Audi) like a twat too!

I hope the couple take action against the parents for posting this video totally vexatiously. Did they give permission for him to film them? I imagine being publicly ‘shamed’ will be very distressing and who knows what’s going on in their lives.

I don’t blame the guy for kicking the bike. He only kicked it out of the way. May well have been in pain from being hit and probably angry that the child may have been hurt due to having an idiot for a father.

It’s a footpath not a cycle path

It’s neither, actually.

It’s a multi use trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

Did they hear the child or the father? Their reaction would say not.

Until they acknowledge they hear you, you hang back/shout louder.

Until modern medicine can grow a functioning eye or two in the back of our heads, the onus is on the people in rear to make sure it is safe before they proceed.

You don’t pull out of a junction without checking the route is clear.

Paths are no different.

It wasn’t that they looked as though they refused to move. It looked to me as though they had no idea of the child till they were hit.

The father should not have encouraged the child to keep going because she looked as though she was sensible enough to try to slow or stop. She was told to keep going.

No one is going for the child. It is the fault of the father.

To film the argument rather than comfort his child is dreadful. And as dreadful as encouraging your child to potentially injure an oblivious couple by proceeding when the path wasn’t clear.

Thank goodness for your post OP. A friend shared this earlier on FB & all the comments I read were agreeing with the girl's parents. I was in shock, I too was amazed at his entitled attitude, the way he ignored his crying child and the fact he felt it worthy to post on SM. The mom was thanking people for being on her side and saying her daughter was ok now but was shaken by the incident. Well maybe that is because her parent/s didn't comfort her at the time. My DH convinced me not to comment with my honest feelings as I'd have just ended up receiving a barrage of abuse. So glad I'm mug the only one to see sense though!

But it was a little 6 year old. Big deal. Accidents happen. There was no malice in her actions.

It was a 6 year old under the supervision of her father who should have had the sense to tell her to keep back rather than encouraging her to keep going. There does appear to have been a degree of malice in his actions, given that he made no attempt to apologise and seems to have been more interested in picking an argument with the people his child had hit than in comforting his child.

Which is more than can be said for the idiot who kicked her bicycle.'

Not great, I agree, but having a bike barge into him must have been a bit of a shock and pretty painful, and when he then had to deal with the idiot with most responsibility shouting at him, a moment of petulance is understandable.

And actually, the onus is on ALL users to be vigilant on the path.

But that doesn't mean looking behind you all the time. How can it?

You don’t pull out of a junction without checking the route is clear
Paths are no different

6 year olds don’t drive cars.

Until modern medicine can grow a functioning eye or two in the back of our heads, the onus is on the people in rear to make sure it is safe before they proceed

Pedestrians are perfectly entitled to walk on country lanes and other roads which have no pavement however they have a duty to take reasonable care for their own safety. The same goes for walkers on a multi use trail.

Iseeareddoor do you think the father behaved appropriately?

It’s also illegal to ride on the pavement at any age- the police don’t prosecute often, but can. If you are under 8 years old it’s still illegal, but the child is too young to be charged.

It’s also illegal to ride on the pavement at any age- the police don’t prosecute often, but can. If you are under 8 years old it’s still illegal, but the child is too young to be charged

It wasn’t a pavement the child was cycling on. It’s a multi use trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

No, 6 year olds don’t drive cars.

This 6 year old drive her bike into two people on the say so of her father.

So that’s ok because she is 6. Ok then...

Sod all to do with the people who clearly got a shock or were sore. It is all their fault according to you.

Not so.

Pedestrians are perfectly entitled to walk on country lanes and other roads which have no pavement however they have a duty to take reasonable care for their own safety.

Which doesn't include constantly looking backwards in case some idiot tries to encourage his child to ride into the back of your legs. You'd be the first to say it was all their own fault if they tripped and fell because they were too busy checking behind them.

As its such a tight path & no overtaking space he should have told his daughter to slow down & wait for him then caught up with her & the couple & said do you mind if she goes ahead of you. Shouting from way behind means they're just going to zone it out as background noise , like they did the little girls voice.

Sorry. Miss read the multi use path bit. Still- the Highway Code clearly says that pedestrians Should be given right of way, they are most vulnerable. And any vehicle running into the back of anything is always at fault- presumably this includes running into the back of a human as well as another vehicle.
Wonder if the dad would have tried the same thing if the couple had been on horseback, or bigger , or more his age, fitness and size?

Whether or not it was a trail (presumably pedestrians would take priority anyway) or even a designated cycle path, you don’t let your kid ride into people whether they’re being ignorant or not. You shout at them to stop, not to carry on , at the very least so they don’t get hurt themselves which is a normal parent’s first instinct! If they can’t operate their brakes reliably you ride alongside them so you can grab them to stop them not let them go off ahead.

And I have to say if I was this guys wife, I’d have ripped him a new one after seeing that video and I wouldn’t trust him to take my DC out on a bike again. Certainly couldn’t imagine posting it on SM to show up what a twat I was with.

The mentality of some people!