A Maple Ridge neighbourhood is calling for measures to slow down traffic after a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured while riding a longboard Saturday afternoon.
The boy and his friends were boarding in the 24700 block of McClure Drive around 2:15 p.m.
According to police, the boy was lying down on his board and failed to spot a car, colliding head-first into it just past Kimola Drive.
“The boy was travelling down a steep incline and simply was not able to stop in time,” said Ridge Meadows RCMP Sgt. Dale Somerville,
The driver of the car remained at the scene following the crash while the boy was rushed to hospital by helicopter.
The boy is the fifth longboarder in as many weeks to be injured in a crash.
Last week, three longboarders were injured in two separate collisions in West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast.
A week earlier, another longboarder in West Vancouver narrowly missed serious injuryd after he landed under a SUV.
RCMP are urging longboarders to stay away from dangerously steep hills.
“This is the first serious longboarding incident Ridge Meadows RCMP have had to deal with, but police know this type of activity is going on, and it is not a safe practice,” said Somerville.
“The boarder has a limited ability to stop for anything once the rider builds up speed, so they are not in total control. As well, many of the boarders are lying down on the board, which reduces the chance of … seeing them as they travel along the road.”
Although the boy was wearing a helmet when he crashed, he remains in hospital with serious head injuries. Police said he was scheduled to have surgery Monday.
Somerville said a preliminary analysis of the crash scene shows show the long boarder was at fault.
In a post on his Facebook page Monday, the boy’s mother wrote that doctors were going to try to wake him up Tuesday morning.
“Fingers crossed everyone and keep sending your prayers, I know they are helping,” she said.
B.C. has long been a cultural hotbed for longboarding and is home to several of the top riders and longboard manufacturers.
A longboard is just a skateboard that’s much longer than usual, and mostly used for downhill racing, commuting, or cruising around town.
Unlike the District of North Vancouver, White Rock, West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver, which have banned longboarders on some streets, Maple Ridge has not.
Maple Ridge district spokesperson Fred Armstrong said council will wait for a report from its traffic management committee before proceeding.
“It’s not going to be a knee-jerk reaction,” he added.
It’s an approach that’s lauded by Les Roberston from North Vancouver-based company Rayne Longboards, a member of B.C.’s new Longboarder Coalition.
“Serious longboarders are extremely safety-conscious,” said Robertson.
“Banning the sport from streets won’t work.”
He suggest parents who purchase skateboards or longboards for their children teach them road and safety rules before allowing them to ride.
“My question to the parent is, ‘how are you equipping your child for being on an open road,’ whether on bicycle or longboard or playing street hockey? A lot of parents give their kids a board and that’s it,” Robertson said.
Residents of the Maple Ridge neighourbood where the accident occurred, meanwhile, are calling on the district to install traffic calming measures to slow cars down.
Erika Inzunza, the neighbourhood’s traffic campaign captain, feels they’ve been ignored.
“They are waiting for somebody to be killed or critically injured in an accident before they do anything,” said Inzunza, who has been lobbying for a stop sign at the corner of McClure Drive and Kimola Drive since 2009.
The long boarder crashed metres away from Inzunza’s home and she believes a stop sign might have prevented the collision.
She says cars driving through the hilly neighbourhood, often pick up speed as they head downhill.
“We demand something to be done urgently.”
