Watch Out, Watch Out, There’s a Pedestrian About!

I have long believed that if I am taken out on London’s roads it won’t be a Chelsea Tractor driven by an idiot chatting on his or her mobile, it won’t be a spandex wally crossing at red, it will be a pedestrian stepping out without looking.

It is something that haunts me and I am always very careful assuming that every bus, every lorry, every people carrier and every Chelsea tractor hides that pedestrian waiting to jump out and try and kill me. Today I saw it happen to someone else.

The Stig and I were riding to work aiming for Waterloo Bridge. We were waiting at the lights outside Waterloo Station when I saw a pedestrian running out from between two buses that had stopped at the bus stop. Coming the other was a motorcyclist carefully passing the buses at about ten miles an hour. We will call the biker “Kay”. She had no chance. The pedestrian took no time to look and just ran straight into her. Kay went straight to the ground with the pedestrian falling on top of her.

The Stig and I immediately stopped and ran over to help. A pedestrian also came over to assist. The perp and the other pedestrian were checking Kay was OK but she was clearly in pain. I asked her what the problem was and she said her ankle hurt. It also looked like she may have hit her head on the ground when she went over. I asked if anyone had a mobile to hand. Mine was switched off under the seat of my bike. So was the Stig’s. Fortunately the bus driver waiting patiently behind our bikes called over to ask if an ambulance was needed. I said that Kay would need one as she had been hurt, and the bus driver radioed for one. London bus drivers get a lot of stick, but in emergencies I have found them to always do the right thing.

To clear the road for the bus and the rest of the traffic the Stig and I moved the three bikes off the road whilst the two pedestrians helped Kay to the pavement, as she couldn’t walk. The Stig gave Kay our names and numbers on a piee of paper in case she needed witnesses. Within a few minutes a paramedic had turned up in a car. He asked me what had happened and then set about examining Kay. As well as the ankle injury there was also some neck pain. Whilst she was being examined I asked Kay for the keys so I could secure her bike. She told me there was a lock in the top box and the Stig and I started looking around for the best place to put the bike where it was not blocking the pavement, and was less likely to get a ticket. After a few minutes of exploring where we could put the bike I looked round and the paramedic had gone, Kay had gone, and so had the perp. The pedestrian who had helped told me that Kay and the perp had been taken to hospital by the paramedic.

Hmm – I now have the keys for a rideable CBF600 with minor damage and no way of contacting the owner and no idea who she is! Fortunately for Kay the bike was fitted with engine protection. This was smashed out of shape but had saved the bike. There was no faring, engine or frame damage visible. There was some scraped mirrors and bar ends, and the most expensive looking damage was some damage to the Givi top box and scratches to the damaged exhaust. Then I noticed that there was a metal tag attached to this huge bunch of keys I had been handed. It had initials, a surname, a date of birth and a mobile number. Great – now all we needed to do was sort out a good place for the bike.

Just as we were running out of options the Police turned up. They were polite and efficient. Took some basic details from the Stig and I about what had happened and made sure they knew how to contact us if they needed to. They asked what had happed to Kay. We guessed she had gone to St Thomas’s as it is just round the corner. They suggested they take the keys after I had put a disc lock on the bike, and they also took a large camera bag that was in the top box that looked like it contained valuable equipment they didn’t want to leave in the box, and said they were going to find out where Kay had ended up. The Police’s view was that the bike should be left where it was, blocking a pavement, and that any ticket would be overturned on appeal! I handed over the keys, and only later realised I had handed over any means I had of contacting Kay to check she was OK.

The Stig and I went on to work, arriving much later than planned, but feeling we had done the right thing. Later in the day I had a meeting in Whitehall, very near Westminster Bridge. It was lunchtime and I thought, maybe I should walk over the bridge to St Thomas’s and check Kay was OK. I was worried she might not have got her keys and camera bag, and was a little concerned that she might not have been able to contact anyone and may need things doing for her.

I have not been to St Thomas’s since an unsuccessful job interview in 1978, so have little memory of the place. However, despite it being a physically unpleasant environment the staff were very good in helping me track down Kay with only her initials and surname that I remembered from the tag attached to the keys.

When I found her she was with her mother and sister. I was so glad she had not been alone. I know from my own experience in hospital following an accident that being there alone is the worst bit. With friends and family it is easy to forget your predicament, but with your own company things tend to tell!

Kay and her Mother were pleased to see me, and I was pleased to find out that she had not broken her ankle, only sprained it, and that whilst she had neck pain, she was going to be sent home soon. I checked the police had given her keys and her bag, made sure Kay knew she could contact the Stig and I should she need to, and went back to work.

I am glad the damage to the bike is not major, but is bound to run to hundreds of pounds to get the bike back as it was before the accident. I am very angry that Kay told me the perp disappeared and will not have to pay the cost of his stupidity.

For the record, (although I don’t really care) I did speak to him about what at happened whilst waiting for the paramedic. He said he had “looked through the bus” and not seen anything and did not remember having time to look round the bus to see if anything is coming. I pointed out that if Kay had been travelling fast he would not have ended up on top of the bike as the bike would have come to rest a hundred yards down the road. The fact that he, Kay and the bike ended up in one heap at the point of impact showed that Kay was moving slowly when he stepped out without looking.

We spoke about his injuries. He had torn his clothing (Kay was wearing full protective gear thankfully) and had a painful buttock and a grazed hand. It was easy not to show too much concern for him. He was lucky, many bikes ride past there at 30mph plus and he could easily have killed and been killed.

When the Stig and I got home we found a message of thanks from Kay on our answering machine. However, the law of karma does not seem to be working today. Having stopped and helped out a biker in distress, the Stig has some hand and wrist pain after trying to lift Kay’s bike single handed, and her electrics were playing up all the way home with no tail lights and no illumination of the instruments but now seem to be OK. That’s an Italian bike for you!

I am sure the Stig will be OK, and Kay is on the mend, but remember where this story started - Watch Out Watch Out – There’s a Pedestrian About!