A video showing a five-year-old cycling down the middle of the road and being narrowly missed by a car has gone viral, sparking a huge debate. See the video for yourself below:
The debate became so heated that it was even discussed on Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 TV programme, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid even became involved.
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Basically, the video shows a child being filmed by his father as he cycles down the road.
At one stage, the young bicycle rider has to pass into the middle of the road, at which point a car passes by and comes pretty close to the young lad.
And, to his credit, the child did not panic in the slightest and just kept on driving down the road.
However, because of the new changes to the Highway Code that outline the ‘Hierarchy of Road Users’, the debate has raged on.
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So, should the driver have stopped and given the child more space?
Should a child that young be cycling on the road like that?
Or, should his father have allowed the whole thing to happen whilst filming it?
The answer – as ever – isn’t immediately clear, but the debate is definitely out there for all to see.
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Appearing on The Jeremy Vine Show, the child’s father Ashley said: "The facts are clear on this one, the driver was wrong, and my son has every right to ride in the road.
"That's clear cut."
And he’s right too.
Cyclists do have the right to be on the road, and the child will eventually have to cycle in the road if he’s to continue riding his bike places.
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Ashley added: "You can see from the clip they should have stopped way sooner,
"They had plenty of distance to make that decision, we had lights on, reflective clothing.
“The distance [to the pair cycling] just is not safe.
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“People will argue 'oh, plenty of room, you could drive a bus through there'... well, I'm sorry, that's not factually correct.
"That's less than a metre gap so legally that's wrong and then morally that's wrong.
“You can debate as much as you want about whether the law is wrong but you know for a fact, everyone knows, that was too close."
However, not everyone is so sure.
Tory peer Baroness Foster, who used to be the Conservative Transport Spokesperson to the European Parliament, said: "A child that small should not be cycling on a road!
“A completely irresponsible decision along with your comments that puts the entire onus on the car drivers if/when something goes horribly wrong!"
Then, adding his two-penneth to the debate, former Chancellor Sajid Javid then blamed the father of the child for the whole thing, sharing the video asking who was at fault and commenting: “The 5-year-old’s father”
According to the new rules about the hierarchy of the road, priority must be given to those who are most vulnerable.
That starts with pedestrians, who are not protected at all, then cyclists, horse riders, and motorcyclists, then those in cars and vans, lastly those in buses and lorries.
However, the question is still not answered, because although the cyclist should have priority, should a child that young be cycling on the road?
Expect this one to rage on.
Tom Wood