Dear Editor:
I am the mother of a 13-year-old son who longboards. A few days ago he was out riding with his friends and was involved in an accident when an off-leash dog ran off the sidewalk at them.
Unfortunately my son hit the dog and fell off his board. The owner of the dog then walked over to my son who was lying injured on the side of the road and said "That's what you get for f****** longboarding." He then made sure that his dog was OK (which it was), and then asked my son if he wanted an ambulance.
Longboarding is not against the law; however, there is a bylaw that requires dogs be leashed.
I'm continually surprised by the anger displayed by some people towards longboarders. I've been out walking a number of times with my son while he's longboarding ahead of me and I've seen some people purposely swerve their cars towards him to frighten him, or to swear at him.
These kids are not lying around the house playing video games. They are not hanging out at the mall or getting into trouble at the park. They are outside getting plenty of exercise and having fun with their friends.
From my experience these are all super nice kids, and I think we need to learn to share the road with them, just like we do with cyclists.
Angela Koudstaal North Vancouver
