Please drive cautiously!
Gratitude that a scraped knee was the only injury after my son was hit by a car
Yesterday on our way to church, I was confronted with witnessing something that no parent ever wants to see - their child being hit by a car. My breath caught in my chest and my heart started racing as I heard a thud and then watched my son getting knocked off his bike by a car reversing out of their driveway. I rushed down the footpath, not even thinking clearly enough to fear the worst, and was beyond relieved when I got to his side and saw that he had already gotten to his feet, relatively uninjured.
He had a scraped knee and a big fright. But he’s resilient, and once the shock wore off he was back on his bike.
The driver was incredibly apologetic. It was evident that he felt terrible and wanted to help. At the time there was nothing that we needed, so I was able to send him on his way once I noticed that his presence wasn’t helping. But on reflection, once the shock wore off for me too, I realised that there is something he can do to help. He can help raise awareness.
So I’ve written him a letter, updating him on how my son is doing (because he really is ok, and I want the driver to have some closure on that aspect). I’m also sharing with him information about how tragically common this sort of accident is (seven Australian children die in driveways every year!), hoping that he will share that information with others. Statistically speaking, the chance of any individual child being hit while walking or riding down the footpath is incredibly small. Yet if he reminds his friends to take care in their driveways, and they remind their friends, and I remind my friends, and they remind theirs, we can shrink that likelihood even lower.
So I’m sharing the letter I’ve written here. I hope it does two things:
Reminds you to take care in your driveway - ensure that your children are being supervised if you’re leaving your own home, and be mindful to give way to any pedestrians on the footpath.
Inspires you to share this newsletter with others.
Hey there neighbour!
I just wanted to give you an update on my son. Apart from a scraped knee, he’s absolutely fine. It took a little while for the shock to wear off, but he was back on his bike within half an hour without any loss in confidence.
Fortunately, we’ve had the best possible outcome. The same can’t be said for too many other children. Every week in Australia, a child is seriously injured in a driveway incident, and on average, seven children are killed by cars in driveways every year. Many of these accidents happen when the car is reversing.
I don’t share this information with you to make you feel guilty. I’m completely convinced that you didn’t have “hit small child with my car” on your to-do list, and I believe you when you said that you didn’t see him. Sometimes, accidents like this do just happen.
However, as a cyclist on the footpath, it was not his job to look out for cars. It was your responsibility to look out for cyclists and pedestrians as you exited your driveway. Many motorists seem to be unaware that they need to give way to pedestrians on the footpath, which unfortunately creates confusion and leads to the footpaths being not as safe as they should be. It’s also frightening easy for a child to be in a blind spot behind a car, as some blind spots extend up to 15m.
I hope that this incident can be an opportunity for positive change. By sharing your experience with your family and friends, you might save a life.
I appreciate that you stopped and checked if my son was ok and offered so much assistance. Thankfully, he really is fine, and is proudly showing everyone his scraped knee.
Take care, drive safe, and be cautious while exiting your driveway!
Beck
So glad he’s okay! 😊