I have a request.
Parents with small children playing outside: please keep them out of traffic.
You may have read or heard recently another tragic story about a small child on a bicycle being struck by a vehicle.
This time, the youngster — though injured — survived.
That happened on the same day I had to dodge two kids who pulled directly into my path without looking as I drove through the neighborhood on my way home. Thanks to a little luck and slow travel, we all avoided a nasty accident.
The girl, who looked about 5, was startled nearly to the point of falling off her bicycle when she finally turned her head to the left and saw me coming. But she continued on right across the street in front of me instead of stopping.
Luckily, I had seen her in time to slow even more and allow her to cross my path safely.
That move may have been more fortunate for the boy, who couldn’t have been more than 4 and was hidden behind a car parked along the right side of the street as I approached.
The boy pedaled his three-wheeler into my lane, hesitated as he saw me, then continued on toward the girl.
By this time, I had come to a complete stop. I looked in the rearview mirror to make sure no vehicles were coming up behind me and saw a young woman who obviously was the mother of these two mini-drivers rushing their way.
