Last week my son who is fit healthy and muscular was hit by a car on cycling home in the dark.
He is very safety concious having survived navel engagements, and quite a few "incidents" in the police force.
He was wearing a Hi Vis jacket, has front and rear lights,(both constant and flashing) plus a reflective rucksack also with a light. Shall we say he was lit up like the seasonal tree.
A 85 year old motorist ran into the back of him, then drove off stopping a quarter of a mile further on, when he hit a parked car.
My son was hospitalised and luckily managed to survive with just broken ribs and massive bruising.
He is presently recovering but admits that the trauma is very difficult, as it was a totally unexpected shock, he was not able to take any evasive action or to prepare himself mentally.
Thankfully the driver has now had his licence revoked so now hopefully he will no longer be in a position to run down other road users.
Which brings to the consequences what could have been a fatal incident, my son will no longer ride his bike to work, which he did for the sake of the excercise, his two daughters are no longer allowed to use their bikes.
My wife and I always carry our bikes when away with the van, but now feel we will no longer be able to ride on the road again, unlike my son we are worn out arthritic and not very good at bouncing off the bonnet of cars or the Tarmac.
Maybe it's about time there was some compulsory medical check for all drivers, not just a visual read of a cars number as you take your test at seventeen.
He is very safety concious having survived navel engagements, and quite a few "incidents" in the police force.
He was wearing a Hi Vis jacket, has front and rear lights,(both constant and flashing) plus a reflective rucksack also with a light. Shall we say he was lit up like the seasonal tree.
A 85 year old motorist ran into the back of him, then drove off stopping a quarter of a mile further on, when he hit a parked car.
My son was hospitalised and luckily managed to survive with just broken ribs and massive bruising.
He is presently recovering but admits that the trauma is very difficult, as it was a totally unexpected shock, he was not able to take any evasive action or to prepare himself mentally.
Thankfully the driver has now had his licence revoked so now hopefully he will no longer be in a position to run down other road users.
Which brings to the consequences what could have been a fatal incident, my son will no longer ride his bike to work, which he did for the sake of the excercise, his two daughters are no longer allowed to use their bikes.
My wife and I always carry our bikes when away with the van, but now feel we will no longer be able to ride on the road again, unlike my son we are worn out arthritic and not very good at bouncing off the bonnet of cars or the Tarmac.
Maybe it's about time there was some compulsory medical check for all drivers, not just a visual read of a cars number as you take your test at seventeen.