WEST Vancouver police are issuing a plea to longboarders to think about their safety after four of them have been rushed to hospital in the last two weeks.
Two riders were injured, one of them seriously, Wednesday afternoon when they skidded off the road into a parked truck on the 1300-block of Camridge Road in the British Properties area.
Investigators say the two were headed downhill when they swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, which was lawfully proceeding in the right lane.
A 23-year-old Surrey resident was released Wednesday night after being treated for cuts and bruises, but a 20-year-old North Vancouver man wasn't so lucky.
"(He) was face-first skidding and had head contact with the front wheel of the truck," said Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver Police Department spokesman.
He was expected to be released Thursday but suffered a head injury and small compression fracture in one neck vertebrae.
Just three days earlier, a 19-year-old wound up under an SUV at the intersection of 13th Street and Esquimalt Avenue.
"Fortunately he just had some laceration injuries," Palmer said. "That was an extremely close call."
A 17-year-old Rockridge secondary student remains in intensive care after a severe head injury he received on May 24 when he crashed into a van being driven by a friend on Isleview Road.
"It is a banned activity on public streets and (we're) pleading with longboarders to really, really think carefully," said Palmer.
"Yes, we have a $45-bylaw ticket we can hit you with, but that really can't be the biggest concern for you. The biggest concern has to be that a couple inches one way or the other when you're in a collision with a vehicle can have completely life-altering consequences."
The District of North Vancouver has faced numerous recent requests to ban the sport outright but has stopped short, opting to only issue fines to riders caught on Skyline Drive, but district Mayor Richard Walton said it will be up to the longboarders to prove they can safely share the roads.
Lower Mainland long-boarders have been reacting to the trend of nasty crashes on a Vancouver Longboarding Facebook group, many of them chastising riders who don't ride safely and create a bad name for the sport while the rest strive keep it legal.
"This summer will be our last chance to prove that the city can accommodate us, we aren't going to get a million chances to figure out a way to make our sport safe. Ride safely, stay in your lane and be as polite as possible to residents," said Aidan Polglase.
Another warned that incidents like the ones in the last two weeks will hurt the group as a whole.
Laine Jackart posted: "This will be used as evidence as to why there should be a blanket ban in North Vancouver. These accidents don't only affect the riders, they slowly pick apart the entire scene and all of its supporters. Several people have goofed it for everyone, but that's how it usually happens anyways."
