A Lynn Valley dad is calling for better conduct from drivers after he was nearly run over while riding with his kids to school Monday morning.
Blaine Kyllo regularly rides with his kids but the Duval Road stretch of their trip is often tense because of the number of parents dropping their kids off at private school Brockton Academy, he said.
Kyllo said he did as he always does – protect his lane and have his son and daughter ride in front of him.
“When my kids and I are riding, I actually ride towards the middle of the road and I take up the entire lane because I don’t want people trying to pass us and then having conflicts with cars coming the other direction. There’s just not enough space on the road,” he said.
The driver of a maroon minivan, however, ran out of patience with them during Monday’s commute and a conflict quickly escalated.
(She) was honking her horn and scaring my kids, frankly, so I actually stopped my bike and gave my kids time to keep riding ahead and get clear and out of the way,” said Kyllo.
“She swore at me and then decided she didn’t want to have a conversation with me and tried to pull around my bike. It sort of took my bike out from my hand and (she) drove over it and sped away through the school zone,” he said.
Another family walking to school tried unsuccessfully to stop the minivan driver. They did, however, get her licence plate number and Kyllo contacted North Vancouver RCMP.
Later in the day, Kyllo said he learned the driver had filed a claim with ICBC because of the scratches her vehicle received in the fracas and also reported it to the RCMP.
There was some irony, Kyllo noted, in that Monday marked the start of Bike to School Week.
“My daughter witnessed it and she was a bit traumatized,” Kyllo said. “I’m sure my daughter really is excited about riding her bike to school the rest of the week.”
Kyllo said he is fine and he’s not concerned about the damage to his bike. What he’d like to see, however, is for drivers to be more mindful of the kids, pedestrians and people on bikes.
“I really don’t like that people can be so short-sighted about the safety of others in the community, especially when it comes to the kids and riding bikes to school,” he said.
North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong said police have interviewed the minivan driver and the file is still under investigation.
