Essay on bicycle safety by Herbert Fields, Age 12
student at H. C. Lea School

I was riding down the street on the right hand side and some lady named Miss Janet was riding down the same side. She was coming toward me. She looked at me, then started rotating her head around her neck. She stopped doing that and drove her bicycle right into mine. It seemed she did it on purpose. Our bikes hit and I was knocked into a parked car. I was scratched up where I hit her bike and the car. She said to me, "You should be on the other side of the street." I knew I was pedaling where I was supposed to be pedaling.

So I went on to my grandma's house because that was where I was going before the accident. My mom was at my grandma's house and I went to ask my mom if I would go to the store. I also told her that Miss Janet have hit me and knocked me into a car. The next morning my big sister went to Miss Janet's house and they started arguing. Miss Janet tried to tell my sister that the kids next door were corrupting me and making me tell lies. That's what makes me think she did it on purpose--her story about how bad I am. I stuck to the truth, that I was on the correct side of the street. My sister and Miss Janet started arguing about whose fault it was. I showed my mom and my sister the car that Miss Janet made me hit. The car had scratches on it. The man who owned the car came out. Finally, Miss Janet admitted she was on the wrong side of the street.

I learned to stick to the truth. Riding on the wrong side of the street can cause accidents. Miss Janet has stopped riding on the wrong side too. I learned I should do the right thing even if the other person doesn't. I think Miss Janet was mad at me, so I learned arguments with neighbors can cause bike accidents.