Mayhem on the roads
Last night, Scott was riding home from work and he was side-swiped by a car. He was thrown from his bike, ruining his clothes, scraping his hands all up, while the motorist simply sped off.
Did he or she see him? I would like to think not, but I suspect the driver was guilty as sin. Most are these days.
Scott has been riding his bike to work for two years now; he does it even though we have a car. He likes to stay in shape and it helps him decompress after a nail-biting day selling people Subarus. He’s been buzzed many times before and it’s particularly galling that many motorists seem to like to see how close they can get to him.
His bike riding makes me nervous, considering the mayhem on the roads these days, including the deaths of four cyclists in Montreal and another in Ottawa. He’s a careful rider, always wears a helmet and usually stops if a transport truck comes his way.
But you never know.
When my daughter Marissa was ten, she was walking her bike across an intersection, talking to her brother Nick. She saw the bus, but assumed it was going straight. It didn’t, and instead turned right, over Marissa’s leg. My boys came running home to tell me, as Nick said: “Marissa got run over by a bus — don’t worry, Mom, she’s not dead!”
When we got to the hospital, the staff were sure Marissa would be in a body cast. Luckily, because she was ten, I guess, she had crushed her leg, but broke no bones. Still, it took her months to recover.
I still haven’t been able to get on a bike. Scott bought me one a few years back and I’m absolutely petrified to ride it. I don’t trust cars. I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust other cyclists.
After last night, I think the bike will remain in storage. I was going to give it to my son Stefan, who needs transportation between his two jobs. I think I’ll help him buy a car instead. As evidenced by our close call with a tour bus a few weeks ago, the chances of walking away from a car accident are much greater than a bike accident.
Because you never know.
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Rose Simpson
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