A regional daily columnist is campaigning for dog owners to control their pets better after a bicycle accident which left him with a broken hip.
Adam Trimingham, of Brighton daily The Argus, crashed after a dog ran out in front of him while he was cycling along Hove seafront and has been unable to get back on his bike since.
Adam, 75, spent 30 years as a reporter for The Argus and used his bike to cover stories including the Brighton bombing in 1984.
He still writes for the newspaper each week.
Adam Trimingham with his bike
Adam told The Argus: “It was a large, solid dog and although it had a lead, there was no one holding it at the other end. I came crashing to the ground and I felt a searing pain.
“It soon transpired that I had broken my right hip – less than four months after smashing the left hip in another accident.”
The collision happened on 10 May but Adam is still recovering and has now decided to speak out.
He said: “I think people need to keep their dogs under control. It has got worse as there’s more dogs and owners need to abide by the rules and have them on a lead on the seafront.”
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Firstly, I am extremely sorry for Mr Trimingham’s accident and I hope he recovers soon. But a couple of points need to be made: The dog in question was wearing a lead, which implies he was under control but somehow managed to escape. I agree wholeheartedly that dogs should be kept under control, as, I hope, a responsible dog owner. I also agree people who don’t keep their animals under control should be penalised to the full extent of the law.
However, some cyclists – and I’m emphatically not suggesting Mr Trimingham is one of these – need to check the mirror. They are not required to pay insurance to be on the road. They are not required to pay road tax, despite the ever-growing amount of public cash – ie money from non-cyclists – spent on creating cycle paths which then become no-go areas for pedestrians. Some cyclists who think they’re Chris Froome, or similar, tog themselves up like Robocop, tear along pavements at stupidly unsafe speeds and terrorise pedestrians in their wake. Half of them don’t appear to appreciate the value of a bell to warn people they are approaching from behind them and the other half don’t appear to have one (illegal). When they do deign to go onto a road, where they should be in the first place, inconvenient objects like red traffic lights seem to apply to other road users, but not them.
So I’ll tell you what. If Mr Trimingham wants to start a petition calling for the control of dogs, I’ll happily sign it – if he’ll sign mine calling for the control of cyclists.
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Well said Echo etc. I’ll sign your petition with pleasure.
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I let my dogs off the lead at every opportunity but often get abuse from cyclists in ‘joint use’ territory for pedestrians and cyclists.
I always tell them they are supposed to have a larger brain so they shouldn’t be surprised if one of my dogs wanders in their path… and they should slow down accordingly.
And they don’t own the pavements.
One elderly lady was pedalling at about 5mph and the dog wandered in her path about five yards away – so she stopped. ‘You’re dog nearly knocked me off my bike,’ she claimed – still three yards away from the dog.
Her husband looked at her astonished and was clearly embarrassed by this barefaced lie. I said to him: ‘Do you have the misfortune to be married to her? You have my deepest sympathy. You’re life must be hell.”
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Hating cyclists: the last socially acceptable form of bigotry.
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Incorrect, Mr Steerpike. I don’t hate the cyclists who behave like hoodlums in pedestrian areas. I hate their arrogance in believing they are superior forms of life just because they are a: on two wheels and b: wearing a helmet and lycra.
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