Mastodawn

Denny Jun 17, 2023

Today is the 20th anniversary of a careless car driver nearly killing me. Really just a moment of inattention on his part, he didn't look before he pulled out, so close in front of me that I had time to touch but not squeeze my brake lever before I went over the handlebars - breaking my wrist and shattering my shin, as my handlebar tried to rip my leg off when it stopped dead and I flew past.

I was in hospital for a month and a day, then in bed for 9 months - the #KingsofChaos alliance I ran were the champions that Age 😆

I started trying to leave the house after 15 months, and worked my way down from two crutches to one, and from there to a walking stick after maybe 2 years. It was a few more years before I could walk without the stick in summer, and several more years until I could walk without it in winter.

It also took several more years for the insurance companies to stop posturing and stalling and threatening each other and actually pay out (100% not my fault) - with the final offer only coming on the evening before the court date.

But a few more years after that, I got into the gym, took up parkour and gymnastics, and actually got the fittest I've been in my life. Not a fitness journey I'd recommend though, less dramatic starting points are available 😃

I often wonder, on these anniversaries, whether he thinks of me and wonders if I'm still alive and how that crash has affected my life or whatever. Probably not. As a society we have a pretty casual attitude to the dangers of bad or careless driving, particularly for other people who aren't inside an armoured box - bikers, cyclists, pedestrians, etc.

If you're a biker: ride safe, ride free ✌️ But be suspicious. 👍

If you're a car driver: please remember that your mistakes might change or even end a life. You'll probably feel really bad after it happens; try to avoid finding out. Look twice at junctions, if you're not sure you have time then wait for a bigger gap, etc etc.