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A4139 (via StreetView)Six-figure settlement for cyclist after driver turned right across her path during sportive
A PE teacher who suffered a traumatic brain injury and spinal fractures when a driver turned across her path during the Long Course Weekend sportive has been awarded a six-figure pay-out.
Wales Online reports that Victoria Gibson was riding along the A4139 near Tenby, when a car travelling in the opposite direction turned across her path.
A group of off-duty soldiers administered first aid before the arrival of the emergency services. She was then taken by air ambulance to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where she spent nearly two weeks in intensive care in an induced coma.
She suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal fractures, a fractured eye socket, and a broken ankle. She has also had issues with damage to her teeth and problems with her vision and speech.
Her injuries meant she had to step down as head of PE at Crispin School in Somerset and she now works part-time.
The motorist’s insurance company admitted that the driver turned across Gibson’s path without checking the way was clear.
Gibson said: “It has been an incredibly difficult year trying to come to terms with not only the circumstances of the incident but also the impact it has had on my life.
“The injuries I suffered have affected all aspects of my life, from work to my ability to participate in sport. I was training for an Iron Man competition when the crash happened and it is hard to take that I may never reach the same level of performance.
“The support I have had from family and friends has really helped. I’m trying to stay positive and move forward with my life but no one should have to go through what I have.
“It is vital that road users do everything they can to keep each other safe.”
Gibson was awarded a six-figure settlement to help fund specialist therapies and rehabilitation to try and overcome her injuries.
Georgina Moorhead from law firm Irwin Mitchell, who represented Gibson, said: “Victoria has made tremendous progress but still faces many challenges with her injuries likely to affect her for the rest of her life.
“Through our work we often see the consequences of what can happen when vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, are involved in collisions.
“Road Safety Week is an important time to reflect on the responsibility that all of us have to keep ourselves and others safe from harm on the road.”
Road Safety Week runs from November 19-25. This year’s #BikeSmart theme aims to raise awareness of the importance of protecting cyclists and motorcyclists.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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22 comments
I get what huitmarmottes is saying. It's a bit like the way the eye sees in saccades. After reading this article by London cyclist, I certainly became more vigilant in looking at junctions when driving. Not that I was careless before, just I'm now so aware that I could look and not see, if I don’t look properly. I do think this should be taught better. When I did my advanced driving test, I was surprised how it was heavily focused on observation rather than driving technique, which was not covered well on the standard driving test at the time.
https://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/
Wow,
Comparing what I wrote to rape? Really?
I was simply saying that it is more difficult to judge the approaching speed of cyclists than cars due to the way our eyes work. In no way was I excusing drivers that are dangerous, impatient, jerks, selfish etc. I've certainly had my fair share of those people for sure. I've even had drivers try to run me off the road, and one had a person in and oncoming car who threw a full can of softdrink at me! What I was saying is just like saying it's more difficult for drivers to see you when the sun is behind you or when it's dawn or dusk. So there are situations where it pays to be cautious.
Mark.
Don't you mean 'So drivers and cyclists should not be required to use the same roads'?
If it's inherently difficult for drivers to see cyclists (and, by extension, pedestrians) then driving is clearly too dangerous an activity to be permitted in urban areas with cyclists and pedestrians. Given the way our eyes work, it seems a mistake was made in allowing that activity in such locations in the first place.
Should be confined to motorways and the like where the potential hazards are all car-sized.
I actually think the comparison is a pretty good one, certainly for making the point in hand.
What you say is true, it is more difficult to judge the approach speed of cyclists than that of a car. But... and a big but at that, this is not to say that it is in any way difficult at all to judge the approach speed of cyclists. It takes a small amount of increased effort.
You can not make any excuse for someone not making that small, simple increase in effort, at all. Just like there is no ambiguity in the word 'no' when it comes to consent. it means no, even when they are drunk, when they are dressed provocatively, when they have come home to yours and stripped chrome off your tailpipe for 20 minutes... if its no, its no.
Driving a car is not hard. Seeing cyclists is not hard. Sometimes conditions are challenging and drivers need to make adjustments to accommodate, but by making those adjustments, driving remains a safe pass time for all.
Its the mindset that its OK to make a mistake that needs to change. Its not OK. Understandable, even forgivable sometimes, but never just OK.
You mention not excusing dangerous drivers, however I would say that 90% of the time, accidents (sic) are not caused by dangerous drivers, just normal people like you and me, who through a tolerance of driving mediocrity have become dangerous by default. There is an exceptence that being a bit shit, is not shit.
Sorry but people misjudging speed and/or size of an object such that they impinge on their safety is reckless at the very least.
Don't excuse laziness, the selfish 'need' to get somewhere a few seconds quicker because it might not be an instantaneous decision to judge speed and size. That's simply bullshit.
This is precisely the thinking that says well it's difficult for a man to stop pressing his sexual advances on a woman when she says 'no' because he's so aroused and she's let it get this far, so ...
BULLSHIT!
I'll repeat again, always making allowances, always forcing the vulnerable to have to change their behaviour, their clothing and even where they go not only is a removal of freedom and right to go about ones lawful business without being harmed but it does not and never has improved safety.
You vindicate the actions of those posing the threat and make it more difficult, more dangerous for those doing nothing wrong, as well as victim blaming/absolving blame from those doing the harm because the vulnerable party did not follow some made up bullshit set of rules!
Hi,
In the US (Washington State) test for a motorcylcle endorsement, we were made aware of the problem humans have with judging the speed of narrow objects e.g. motorcycles. Judging the speed of oncoming objects depends a lot on the width of the object you are observing, so cars and trucks, which are wide, are much easier to judge their approaching speed then narrow objects. So we were cautioned to be more careful when approaching vehicles that may be turning in front of us, because they probably won't be able to properly judge our speed.
This advice applies just as well to us cyclists. It's not always that other drivers don't care or have bad driving skills, it's just that they aren't made aware of this fact. I think in Washington State, they now give instruction about this on the regular driving tests too. But until drivers learn this, we need to be extra careful with our speed when in situations such as these.
Mark.
I saw this happen to a school kid (around15-16 I would say) on Wednesday. Theres this dead straight slight downhill on my commute to work (I was driving, as Im sick. Like just getting over the flu and cant take any sick days due to deadlines/workload sick).
The kid was coasting down hill on the cycle/foot path next to the road, when a, you guessed it, white van in front of me decided he is going to turn into the next driveway. He doesnt indicate, doesnt even check his near side mirror - just pulls in.
The kid managed to scrub off some speed and , thankfully, stayed upright. But the remainder of his speed was scrubbed off by t-boning the side if the van. I pulled in and got out to act as a witness, in the event shit got real.
The driver looked confused more than anything. The kid was ok but shaken. The bike was ok too. Both of them were very lucky!
Well done for stopping, so many people just can't be bothered or don't want to get involved. Was this reported to the police?
Netherlands has over 60 deaths a year on its infra where it crosses paths with roads designed mainly for cars, how we have relatively so few deaths in this country is staggering in many respects considering how shite the drivers are here and how shite the whole getting about infra is set up..
it’s one of the reasons why John Forester was so opposed to separate cycle lanes in Effective Cycling.
I had exactly this happen to me on my commute a couple of months ago. Driver turned across my path and I somersaulted over their bonnet. Bike was a write off, I was pretty much uninjured, thank God. Goes to show how close I was to serious injury.
Police sent the driver on a driver improvement course and I got a fat insurance payout for my ruined bike.
I don't know about this case, but I'm certain that quite often the motorist has seen the cyclist but either misjudges the cyclist's speed or even worse subconsciously thinks
"Oh it's only a cyclist, why should I wait for them? They won't damage me or my car much if I hit them anyway."
Had this in in middle of Wadebridge in Cornwall once, while on a short on-road stretch of the Camel Trail. Old man pulled out right in front of my husband and I at a roundabout. Nearly fell off with my young daughter in the child seat behind.
He had looked right at me just before he did it too!
This happened to me at the end of a training ride a couple of weeks ago. I was on my last interval - on a pan flat, dead straight road. Garmin said I was doing 45k/h (tailwind helped haha). About 100 yards up the road there's a municipal dump and I've seen traffic do stupid things pulling in/out of there before so I slowed down a little. There's a car sitting there waiting to pull out and turn right across the traffic (I'm approaching from the right). Steady stream of traffic coming in the other direction. There's a slight gap in traffic coming from the left (importantly, there isn't enough space for the car to pull out, across my lane and merge without hitting the cars). Bloke looks at me, then left at the oncoming traffic, looks at me again and... Yep - pulls out. Gets frantically beeped by the motorist coming in the other direction he's about to hit... And stops dead in the middle of the road. Literally hit him, despite clamping on the anchors for all I was worth, fishtailinf a little and doing an endo.
I have no idea how I didn't pull him out and beat him to death
People are imbeciles
I trust that this was reported to the police and the subsequent prosecution will result in a conviction for dangerous driving and the driver will receive a lengthy custodial sentence and a lifetime driving ban.
No? I think we might need to revert to your original plan, and plead justification and self defence. I'd donate to your crowdfunded legal representation, something along the lines of "the sun was in my eyes" or "it was just an error of judgment" or "I temporarily blacked out" should be enough to get you off.
I have thumped a couple of drivers, after a "dooring" and after being "rear ended". However, I decided to stop after the "rear ending" when the police told me, convincingly, that they would have prosecuted tthe driver, if I hadn't assaulted him immediately afterwards. However, that was back in the 1970s when police seemed to take road offences more seriously. (Those were the days when drivers would get prosecuted for crossing solid white lines!) Apart from another rear ending in the USA, where the contrite* driver paid for repairs, a meal and put me up in a hotel until the next day when a decent cycle shop opened. I am, thankfuly, still waiting for another assault by motor car in the UK!
I've also kicked a car door into concavity** twice, after people drove through red lights onto crossings that I was walking (my bike) across. I'm still up for car kicking and miss those door mirrors that used to pop off so easily, hanging folornly on a piece of elastic, but I no longer assault drivers. I long ago learned to always ride beyond the range of car doors.
* It was the USA, maybe he was just afraid of lawyers.
**the base of cleated cycling shoes is satisfyingly stiff and tough!
Im sure any of us that cycle regularly, especially commuters will have had similar instances, I personally had two close calls last week, have been knocked off once and car doored once. Its a dangerous passtime / mode of transport but not a reason to give up for sure.
I dont know if Victoria will get any of our sympathies but I wish her the best of recoveries.
well, no. It is not a dangerous activity at all in itself. Hardly anyone comes to harm on a bicycle just by being on a bicycle, and of course it is a huge health benefit, so positively anti-dangerous. It is the presence of motor traffic, and the criminal stupidity and selfishness of many drivers, that is dangerous.
I hope this person has been adequately compensated for loss of earnings and pension, trauma, loss of enjoyment and so on as well as receiving payment for treatments.
When is the criminal case? Or given that sounding your horn 4 or 5 times on a single track road and proceeding anyway to then knock off and kill them only qualifies as careless, I guess this is just "unfortunate accident".
Just goes to show how vulnerable we all are and that it doesn't take much in terms of a lack of attention by someone else to totally change one's life. Victoria, if you read this, keep it going. Sounds like you have shown a lot of mental grit just to get where you are now but I suspect that there is still a long journey ahead of you so I hope the money helps you get the professional assistance you need.
Now, I am not a fire and brimstone man, no 'eye for an eye' from me, but I wonder if the police actually brought charges? There is no mention of it but surely this must qualify as something, such as driving without due care and attention?
I don't know if any criminal case was brought. My understanding is that the police would investigate all reasonable lines of enquiry, and then pass the file to the Crown Prosecution Service, who would ultimately take a decision on whether to charge or not. Rarely is any detailed coverage given (if sufficient information is even made public) to such decisions and how they were arrived at.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps-page/decision-charge
I thought this was the same incident, but it’s another separate, but similar crash on the same road, also in July 17. Sadly another “sun in my eyes” and a measly fine plus a few points on the license. http://www.tenby-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=113546&headline=Aspiring+%27...
http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/15432173.two-cyclists-airlifted-t...
I have no idea what lead to the decision to prosecute this as driving without due care and attention, but once that charge was brought, the most sever penalty the magistrate could apply was a fine and points, or in the most serious cases of high culpability, a driving ban. What constitutes high culpaility is in the guidelines too. The guidelines are set by the Sentencing Council:
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/car...