Mitchell Kinghorn is an enthusiastic cyclist who is in his final year at Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School. He took up cycling as a sport 18 months ago as a year 7 at PN Intermediate Normal. He is soon to have his 13th birthday.
About a month ago Mitchell was out on a training ride with a friend. When the two of them got closer to home, just on dusk and lights were required to get home, Mitchell decided to ride home with his friend before heading home himself. They headed up Tremaine Ave at 5.00pm on this Tuesday evening, traffic heavy with the business day ending.
Unfortunately he had an accident before he made it home. When he hit the ground he sustained a nasty gash to his leg. He immediately went into shock. A passing motorist stopped to assist him. Mitchell was unable to tell the person who he was or what his phone number was. When he started at PN Intermediate he was given an ICE card which he had in his back pocket. He was able to pull this out and hand to the person assisting him. They were then able to call Mitchell’s parents and inform them of the situation. Mitchell’s Dad rushed to the scene and was with Mitchell as he was taken off to hospital.
So if you are talking to Mitchell or his parents they will reinforce the importance of carrying an ICE number with you whenever you are out as you just don’t know what might happen.
With this incident in mind Bike Manawatu is investigating producing a small disc that will be able to record your ICE number on and that will be attached to your bike. The Police and Emergency services will be informed of this initiative and all Bike Manawatu members will be asked to put the disc on their bikes as soon as they are received. They will be mailed out with the August newsletter which should go out in the mail in the last week in July. They will have an adhesive back on them with a hole in the centre and will be placed over the disc on the front stem. Having them all displayed in the same place will aid emergency services as they will not need to search for the location on your bike.