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news
Broken bike (CC licensed image by garryknight, www.flickr.com)Concussed cyclist says medic left him at roadside
A cyclist who was left unconscious when he was knocked off his bike by an elderly motorist whom he had earlier told to look out for bike riders has lodged a complaint after a paramedic left him at the roadside, telling him to go home and rest.
Tim Stirrup says he was unconscious for around 15 minutes after the incident last Wednesday afternoon near Perry Green, Hertfordshire, reports the Herts & Essex Observer.
He called the emergency services when he came round, and a paramedic arrived in a rapid response vehicle who spent 20 minutes checking the 52-year-old, before telling him to go home and rest.
A friend drove him home, but later that evening Mr Stirrup had to go to Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital because of a worsening headache and pain in his neck and shoulder, which turned out to be broken.
He was also diagnosed with concussion, and has made a formal complaint to the East of England Ambulance Service about his treatment by the paramedic.
"What I want to know is whether this is normal practice with a head injury,” he told the newspaper. “I'm shocked that I was left by the side of the road.
"I just remember a big bang. I got completely knocked out. All I remember is coming round on a grass verge. I couldn't see anything at all, everything was black, and I could just hear voices talking to me after I came around."
Shortly before he was knocked off his bike, Mr Stirrup had a word with the motorist who later struck him.
"I was cycling back towards Bishop's Stortford and I saw this elderly couple pulling out of a car park,” he said.
"I always wear a helmet when I'm on the bike and if I can't see a driver's eyes then I just stop.
"I could see that this elderly couple hadn't seen me coming so I stopped and pulled up beside them to politely tell them they had to be careful of cyclists.”
A mile and a half later, it was the same motorist who was driving the car involved in the collision.
A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 3.09pm to reports of a road traffic collision involving a cyclist in Perry Green. A rapid response vehicle attended the scene and treated a man who was believed to be in his 50s.
“He was conscious and breathing. He was treated for what was believed to be a minor head injury.
"We were on the scene for just over 20 minutes and a thorough assessment was made and the patient was discharged.
"As the patient has made a formal complaint it will be investigated and we will get back to the patient once the investigation is complete," he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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14 comments
What's wrong in UK? Obviously something is.I've lived in the Pyrenees for 27 years and generally (I stress generally) French drivers are pretty aware of cyclists. Perhaps it's a cultural thing. i'm nearly 68 and I cycle (a lot) and drive. Elderly drivers are a problem but so are young ones on their mobile phones! Take your pick ...
More cyclists so more awareness?
For years ive said there should be mandatory resits every few years, its amazing that rules change and get updated but you may never know without a retest
We all love our elderly relatives but some of them are shocking behind the wheel of a car. Their reaction times are abysmal. You see them at junctions where they take an eternity to look left and right as if it requires massive effort and they try to turn their whole bodies because their neck joints are shot. And their heads never move from the dead ahead position most of the time. Mirrors? Pffffftttt.
I ride a motorbike as well as my road bikes and I am never more alert and concerned about a car driver when I can see that they are well beyond pension age. They scare me and I guess that keeps me on my toes.
There should be compulsory, yearly check runs with a driving examiner and yearly eyesight tests the moment you celebrate 70th birthday. No pass, no driving. Too many elderly people are wiping out families because they should not be behind a wheel.
I'm a bit confused. You get hit off by a driver who you had previously told to look out for cyclists and you complain about the paramedic?!
The article doesn't mention whether the driver is being held to account for his actions, but a bit of an ommission from the story.
"a thorough assesment was made"
So thorough that they didn't know his age and missed a broken shoulder!
This happened a few miles away from me yesterday http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/14677405._Like_a_bomb_going_off___Witn...
An elderly driver pulled out of the car park of the Morrissons opposite the charity shop and by eyewitness accounts just ploughed straight into the shop and kept travelling for some distance. The exact reasons are not reported but I would suspect some kind of acute health problem causing him/her to lose vision or lose control of their reflexes. I was also nearly reversed into by an elderly man a few years ago, and had to shout 3 or 4 times before he heard me or look round. Evidently it is common sense that every driver, particularly the elderly, should face re-testing every few years. It's insanity that someone could pass a test at 17 and carry on driving for another 60-70 years without having to prove their ability and fitness to drive again.
I wonder if it is a coincidence that he was hit by the driver he spoke to, or whether the driver acted maliciously? Based on many dodgy drivers attitudes, you have to wonder...
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity"
Older drivers should have to face re-testing every few years with compulsory annual eye testing.
My main concern is that a paramedic told him to go home and rest when its standard procedure for anyone who has suffered a head injury and lost consciousness (for 15 minutes no less!!) to go to hospital for usually around 6 hours observation.
Why just the elderly? Surely all drivers and particularly those groups who proportionately have the most accidents.
Completely agree that ALL drivers should be re-tested regularly, perhaps every five years?
If nothing else it would be a nice income stream for central government; I'm surprised that they haven't already done it.
I would guess this high on the agenda of things the motor lobby wishes to prevent.
I've often said that its ridiculous that you have to renew your passport every 10 years yet only ever have to prove you can drive under test conditions for less than an hour and have a licence for life.
My comment was specific about drivers over a certain age because thats the subject matter in hand, and not some all encompassing, wide sweeping generalised moan about all drivers and how they have it so fucking easy that they even know theyre born!
If that was too much for you to grasp, or doesnt fit in with your agenda of having a dig at everyone, then theres not much I can do to help you.