Video Of Five-Year-Old Cycling In The Middle Of The Road Sparks Debate

After a parent posted a video of their five-year-old child riding down the street and being just barely missed by a car, a heated discussion broke out on social media.

As he cycles behind his son while going in Kingston, southwest London, the father of the child can be heard chastising a driver for not stopping.

The child's father, who posts as @azb2019 on Twitter, included a mention of broadcaster and well-known cycling advocate Jeremy Vine in the tweet that included the footage.

"How can we expect parents to let their kids ride to school if this is how their neighbors drive towards them?" the dad wrote. "He's five by the way and this is 100m from his home."

Twitter

Vine posted the footage on Twitter and requested feedback from his fans before discussing the incident on The Jeremy Vine Show.

"Take a look at this video of a five-year-old cycling to school. He's being recorded by his dad behind," he tweeted on Tuesday (8 November). Look at how close this car approaches the child.

"Who is in the wrong?”

"Is it the five-year-old, or is it the driver of the Ford?”

Twitter

"Let us know what you think."

Former Home Secretary and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid made the decision to weigh in on the debate and attribute blame to the father of the child.

"The 5-year-old's father," he responded.

Vine then quote-tweeted Javid's response, writing: "I mustn't respond.”

Twitter

I mustn't respond.”

I mustn't respond".

The video caused a rift in social media, with some Twitter users siding with Javid and others believing the driver ought to have pulled over.

"Sajid is correct I’m afraid Jeremy," one Twitter user replied.

Another commented: "The father, who seems to be wanting to impart a message to his child to ignore his innate sense of danger even when the danger is quite obviously present."

While a third said: "The little one clearly saw the car as a potential hazard and said ‘should I pull over to the side?’ The father saying ‘no carry on’ suggests that he was the danger here too. Safety and self-preservation should always come first. You can always argue about rights of the way later."

One woman, however, spoke out in favor of the father, writing: "The driver, 100 percent.”

"Blaming the fact that the kid is on the road (bikes belong on the road, the kid is clearly steady and riding at speed without training wheels - he's road-worthy) is like blaming a girl for wearing a skirt or blaming her dad for letting her out in a skirt."

The Highway Code was most recently revised in January to offer cyclists higher priority. Drivers who break the law risk $237 (£200) fines and six points on their license due to the "hierarchy of road users."

Drivers will now have a greater duty to watch out for individuals riding bicycles, walking, or horses, and cyclists will have a greater duty to be aware of pedestrians as a result of the priority placed on cyclists and pedestrians.

Drivers are required to maintain at least 1.5 meters between themselves and cyclists when passing, as well as to defer to pedestrians crossing the street at crossings.

Additionally, cyclists are advised to stay in the middle of the lane on quiet streets, in slow-moving traffic, and in areas with approaching intersections or road narrowings where it would be dangerous for cars to pass them.