I was a witness to a coming together between a cyclist and a van last night.
The scen was the entrance to the local nick car park, which is seperated from tjhe road by (in order from the road- pavement- equal width grass verge- brick wall).
I was parking a job vehicle in the car park. I was nose towards the wall. As I did so, the overnight dispatch run was enetering the car park having driven from my right. As it turned left into the car park, it slowed, momentarily obstructing the pavement and verge. I recognised the driver (ex dog handler who, many years ago, was handling a 'kin great GSD that took a shine to my ankle as I was climbing a gate to contain the back of a house during a firearms job- dragged me up the garden path by said ankle
).
Before he had completed his manouver, a youg lad (about 15 years old) suddenly came into view from my right, wearing a look of terror and trying desperatly to halt his forward motion by use of his feet. He almost stopped but the front wheel of his bike (hardtail MTB) hit the rear bumper of the van.
He stayed upright but looked a bit shocked. he rode around to the front of the van, communicated with the driver then rode off.
From the brief view I had of what happened, I get the impression that the cyclist, who was travelling in the same direction as the van, was hooning along the pavement/ verge at a very rapid rate of knots and his brakes were useless/ none existant. Either that or he was hooning along the road at the same rate of knots and bunny hopped onto the pavement / verge to try and avoid the van.
I got out and spoke to the driver who asked if I had seen the incident. He is a former class 1 driver and said he had no idea where the cyclist came from as he was not visible on either the road or pavement as he approached the police station.
It is possible he emerged from a junction about 20 yards further up the road and was head down, arse up accelerating before he realised what was happening ahead of him.
I had a look at the pavement and grass verge on the aproach to the collision site- no sign of skid marks on the tarmac or grass.
No one injured and no discernable damage to anything.
Hopefuly the cyclist has learned something.
