Some parents scare the crap out of me.

[notalwaysright]

Driving home from work, beautiful weekend morning. Lots and lots of pedestrians and bicyclists. That's fine, I love that I live in an area where people appreciate being outside. I'm in a super good mood because I went my my guilty pleasure breakfast place for takeout.

Obviously the universe had to end that good mood immediately. I'm close to home, on a somewhat busy road. It's in a residential area, but there are traffic lights, and it is a main street. What do I see? About 8-10 bicyclists, some riding side by side in the bike lane.

But wait! The majority of the riders are small children. One looks like it's his very first time without training wheels. He's swerving erratically INTO TRAFFIC. Now, like I said it's not the busiest road, I think the speed limit is 30. But still! He looked to be maybe 7-8 years old, and he wasn't the smallest rider in this group. No grownup showed any indication that they were concerned by this swerving.

The last two riders in this horrifying pack are a grownup and a little girl. The girl is small and riding slow. The grownup is holding her own bike and holding the little girl's handle bars and jogging. Just in case I didn't describe that well, the adult has one hand on her own bike, the other on the little girl's bike, and is running in between. The little girl is placed closest to the road in this situation.

All of this was in the bike lane. Well, kind of in the bike lane. Why, why not use the sidewalk? That is perfectly legal in this area of town, since it's not the business district. Also, if you are even a tiny bit familiar with the area, you know that it is not necessary to use this main road. There are lovely quiet neighborhoods all around, all in nice square blocks, without any hills.

The whole thing was so amazingly stupid I could only gape in horror. In fact, I needed to make a left, and had to wait a long time while they passed. Cars stacked behind me and not one person honked. Nobody darted around me, which they normally always do. I honestly think we all just sat there staring in disbelief.

[kansha]

let me guess, none of them were wearing helmets either?

[notalwaysright]

let me guess, none of them were wearing helmets either?

If I remember right, everyone was wearing helmets. Which makes no sense, if you think about it. As if wearing a helmet means they have fulfilled their responsibility for safety.

I just spent a silly amount of time researching dash cams. *sigh*

[wolfie]

Whether or not they were wearing helmets is irrelevant - they have nothing important that the helmets would protect.

[Aria]

If I remember right, everyone was wearing helmets. Which makes no sense, if you think about it. As if wearing a helmet means they have fulfilled their responsibility for safety.

I just spent a silly amount of time researching dash cams. *sigh*

My guess is that if everyone was wearing helmets, they really thought they were doing the best they could. My guess is also that they thought using the sidewalk would be illegal. In some places, it is, which I think is a bad rule... but all it takes is one idiot cyclist running down an old lady and there you go.

[The Braindead Live]

What absolutely drives me up a wall is the parents that let their little brats climb all over the cart whilst they shop. When they are in my section, I keep an eye open in case I have to attempt to catch a child before he or she falls out of the cart, smashes his/her noggin, and subsequently becomes stupider than the parents. Be a parent! And no, I don't care about liablity issues. I care that little Dumbass Jr. is on the verge of taking a spill and cracking his skull, while mommy and daddy are somehow absolutely fascinated with a box of nails. So, in addition to being sucky customers, you are also shitty parents. Why not just complete the trifecta and take a dump on the floor? Watch your damn kids, you morons!

[Sidhera]

Sometimes common sense isn't all that common. The parents should have been mindful of traffic & the surroundings. It sounds more like a common attitude I see around here, where pedestrians & cyclists expect cars to avoid them, and that traffic rules don't apply to them. It can & does create a scary & dangerous commute. 😵

[CyberLurch]

Sometimes common sense isn't all that common.

Common sense hasn't been very common for a couple of decades now. And I swear, the situation is getting worse by the minute.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

It sounds more like a common attitude I see around here, where pedestrians & cyclists expect cars to avoid them, and that traffic rules don't apply to them. It can & does create a scary & dangerous commute. 😵

Can confirm. A couple weeks ago I nearly mowed down a group of pedestrians who somehow thought it was a good idea to wear dark clothes and step out in the middle of the street at 4:50 am.