In the past three weeks I have been struck in two road crashes riding my bicycle. In Belgium I was injured in a hit and run while training for a 2026 race. A psychopath intentionally pushed me into oncoming traffic (I saw him turning his steering wheel as he came driving next to me). I suffered very minor injuries, but the collision caused $1,000 worth of damage to the bike.
The crash that rewired my perspective (& my arm)
This past Friday here at home in British Columbia I was struck by a distracted driver when she merged onto the road where I was riding. Just before she hit me, instead of paying attention to the road in front of her, I saw her looking at her passenger with whom she was having a lively discussion. She broke my elbow and my bike.
I was in trauma surgery the next day and I am now the unwilling but proud owner of a bionically enhanced arm with two pins that will provide endless entertainment when going through airport security in my future travels. My awesome superbike’s carbon frame is cracked, the wheels bent plus my helmet was damaged. All of it will most likely be a write-off.
A different kind of wake-up call
So, the past three weeks have been life-changing for me. I was actually in a car crash 18 or so years ago when a speeding driver rear-ended me, but it never really made me think differently about anything. It’s almost like it didn’t count because there were no consequences for me to deal with. I did not feel like I had ever been in a real crash.
This time around, however, it’s different. I have made the decision to no longer ride my bike on public roads, except in organized events like Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April next year for which I was training for. Yes, I do expect to still be able to get ready in time even though my recovery will take three months give or take.
I owe my story to a helmet
What I am grateful for…that my helmet did its job. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this post to you, as you can see from the dents in it. The scientific debate on bicycle helmets is still ongoing and has been nasty at times. Detractors of mandatory helmet laws believe they only serve as a hurdle to get as many people as possible on bicycles. And the more people we get on bicycles, the healthier the population will be as a whole. Proponents of mandatory helmet laws believe they protect you from sustaining a head injury when you are involved in a crash. It doesn’t matter to me. When I ride, I wear my helmet.
Knowing isn’t the same as living it
What I learned…that you can’t control other people’s stupidity. As a scientist, studying human behaviour, I already knew this of course, but I had never lived it. I am in the shape of my life, an Ironman, all muscle. I had flashing lights on my bike, front and back. It was a bright sunny day. I assessed whether it was safe to pass the merging lane and there was nothing to indicate it wasn’t, until it was too late for me to get to safety. None of it mattered.
Choices matter more than we think
So, my message to you…that your choices do matter! I am not going to try and convince other people to make the decisions I made following this debacle. The debate about helmets is ongoing, but I am not an advocate. I am a scientist. The decision to no longer ride outside is a drastic one. People should make informed decisions about these things themselves, for themselves.
What I will do…continue to work with all my colleagues to help people make such informed decisions. Thank you to the large majority of road users out there who do make responsible choices every day! I have never felt before how important they are like I do now.
Stay safe!
#MySafeRoadHome blog author: Ward Vanlaar, TIRF COO, is a statistician and criminologist whose main fields of interest are traffic enforcement issues, risky driving behaviours, young and senior drivers, statistics and methodology, data management, safety performance indicators, and implementation of road safety programs. Originating from Ghent, Belgium and now residing in Nanoose Bay, BC, he became a Canadian citizen in 2012 and has visited many parts of Canada. Ward is an Ironman and avid cyclist training for Liege-Bastogne-Liege in Belgium next April.
Related topics:
 |
 |
 |
 |
