A CONCERNED parent is pleading with drivers to kill their speed and drive sensibly after his nine-year-old daughter was sent flying over her handlebars by an on-coming car.
Thankfully for David Viehoff, his daughter, Willow, escaped with just cuts and bruises after falling into the kerbside 
on Rectory Lane, Lymm.
Mr Viehoff is convinced the woman driver saw what had happened.
He said: “I could see the panic on the woman’s face. She probably didn’t want to scratch her car and missed my daughter by about an inch. Willow went over the handlebars and into the kerb.”
The driver of the car, a yellow mini, didn’t even stop or look back when she reached a junction a matter of metres away.
Mr Viehoff, who also had his four-year-old son in a seat on his bike, was left to help his daughter back up.
“Willow survived the experience without a tear and with only bruises and scrapes, but after four years of riding on the roads with me, she decided to cycle home on the pavement,” he said.
His major concern now is with more children using their bikes on the roads during summer holidays, there could be more similar incidents that could lead to serious consequences.
He said: “The worrying thing for me is there are a lot of kids around at the moment and drivers need to be told there is no harm in slowing down. My daughter isn’t naive on the roads and was with me at the time, yet was still involved in an accident.”
Using common sense when driving is a feature Mr Viehoff is keen to press home, particularly when it comes to passing cyclists.
“Even if the speed limit is 30mph drivers should still slow down. If they are doing 30 and the cyclist is travelling at 10, that’s a collision at 40mph, which is going to be very serious,” he added.
“Willow hasn’t been out since the incident, but I’m sure she will be. She usually cycles into the village at the weekend to get us some bread. I would still like to speak to the woman though, not to prosecute her, just to talk to her and get her to apologise to my daughter.”
Kill your speed – not our children
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About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
