Watch your speed and watch the kids... (Health and Safety in General)

Member Name: aider1st

Product:	Health and Safety in General
Date:	08/12/01 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Save a life and your insurance

Disadvantages: Dark nights and mornings

Never underestimate your child. No matter how sensible they are, or appear to be. This is a lesson that I myself have learned to day as a result of a very frightening experience. Let me relate it to you.

My eldest is usually very sensible. Although he is only eleven he is capable of quite a lot. He is a very intelligent child, (and I’m not being biased, this is based on school reports and him being in the top grade classes) normally and I can usually rely on him for quite a lot of things. For example he picks up his younger brother (who is seven) from school as he finishes before the primary school. He takes a bus to his school as it is a distance away, and he can be trusted to go to the shop and bring back the change. A well rounded chap if I say so myself.

This morning he set off for school at his usual time of seven thirty. He was in a rush to meet his usual gang of friends that he meets up with. I was at home trying to sort out the rest of my gang, and to get my other son ready for school. Everything was at its normal mayhem. I was obliviously unaware of what was going to happen within the next hour.

We usually leave the house at eight thirty in the morning to get to the primary school for nine ‘o’ clock. This morning I was running late after having a fight with the shower and number four child deciding to throw up everywhere and requiring another wash. It is a good thing that I did.

I got a phone call at eight twenty five this morning from the local police station. The gist of the call was as follows:
“Hello this is p.c (whatever) from the police station is this Mrs (me basically!)?
“We just wanted to inform you that we have your son.
My heart skips a beat at this point thinking what has he done, and why have the police got him? Has he done something that is going to mean trouble?
“He was involved in a traffic accident and is on his way to (the local hospital),
but don’t worry its not to serious all we know at this time is he has a graze on his knee. He may have broken his leg but we are not sure. He was taken by ambulance and is asking for you.”
Now first of all I don’t want to critisie the police. They handled it well. But how on earth can you tell a mother not to panic? That is going to be her first reaction to some news like that. I now had to rush the rest of my kids out of the house, inform my husband of what was happening, try to arrange someone to look after my littlest two and get up the hospital. Great joy, I think not.

I managed to get my son to school, but unfortunately could not get the baby sitter, so I took them with me. I was rushing around having visions of dread. After all my son is not exactly built like a bricksh**t house. He is small and rather weedy. Such thoughts as: Was my son all right? Was he seriously injured? Was he going to be admitted? Was he bandaged up and now looking like a mummy? How did he manage to get hit with a car after all the cautions that he has been given? Little toad I’m going to strangle him. It is strange what you think and feel in a crisis. But I had to keep positive, as I did not want my two little children getting upset. My husband was going to meet us at the hospital, and was just as worried as I was. My mobile did not stop ringing on the way to the hospital. I do not live that far from the hospital but this journey felt like miles.
I rushed into the casualty or should I say burst into the casualty. My son was nowhere to be seen, I then spent about ten minutes trying to find him. It seems that he had got lost in a mountain of paperwork, and no one could seem to tell me where he was. I think that it may be time to write an opinion on the N.H.S.

Eventually I found him in a side room. I must admit pure relief when I see him just sitting looking a little bit forlorn on a chair. He did not have any bandages on, w
as not “plastered” and was looking quite all right. No ripped clothes no nothing. All he had to show for his accident was a graze on his right knee the size of ten pence, and an awful lot of shock. This I can deal with. I my self was in shock I think just seeing him sitting there. He was checked over and then he was discharged. I was given the usual warnings about if he felt ill what I should do.

Obviously like any parent would, I asked him what on earth had happened? His answer? I was playing with my friends. We were chasing a boy and we cut across the road. I did not stop to look and did not see the car.

The police have since informed me that no more action is going to be taken. I have been in contact with the driver, (who I must say was in just as much shock by it all, having stated to me that this has been the most frightening experience to see a child’s face come up onto the windscreen) and I have made my son apologise for running out like he did. The police said to me that if my son wasn’t carrying his school bags the consequences could have been very different. They acted like a cushion for his fall, and because they are bigger than him (!) could have saved his life.

Now just for all you drivers out there. The speed that the car was going was not excessively fast. The driver was not speeding. They was doing 20 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour spot. They had not been drinking (that time of morning?) and everything on the car was “up to scratch”, as the car had not long had a M.O.T. I know that this experience will stay with that person for a long-time. I have no malice towards them at all; after all it’s not their fault.

Surely there is a lesson to all here?

Drivers watch out for little people, do try and keep your speed down. Being a driver myself I do know how easy it is to go fast and not know. Especially at this time of year when it is dark in
the early morning, and early evening. And to us parents, we can never be to assured as to our child’s understanding of things. I know that I will continue now more than ever to “nag”. I try to give my son some kind of independence, has made me very weary now. And children, LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS…THEY HAVE YOUR BEST INTRESTS AT HEART.


Just as a footnote: I deliberately did not identify the sex of the driver. I do know but did not want to start the he / she war. What do you reckon?

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