‘I thought I’d never hold my son again’
IN October 2019, LancsLive photographer James Maloney was out cycling around West Lancashire, as he had done countless times before.
An amateur club racing cyclist and having completed single day trips as far as Scarborough to Liverpool, he is no stranger to knowing how to keep safe on the roads.
But on this occasion, there was nothing that he could do as a driver veered across the dual carriageway and sent him crashing into her windscreen - something that he would later learn is called ‘bullseyed’ by emergency services.
His ankle was broken, his knee badly damaged, and his head and spine underwent examinations for trauma after crashing directly into the glass.
To this day, James says his cycling helmet saved his life, and being hit at slightly greater speed or from a different angle could have killed him.
In the moment of impact, he feared that he would die without ever being able to kiss his wife or hold his baby son again.
Thankfully, with help from an off duty nurse who witnessed the crash, James was soon taken to hospital by attending medics.
While the physical injuries took months to recover from, which caused problems not only for him but also his family around him, it was the psychological scars that took far longer to heal.
A diagnosis of severe post-traumatic stress disorder and then depression followed, as well as the loss of confidence that has left him still unable to return to cycling on the road, as well as affecting his feeling of safety while driving.
James’s story is just one of hundreds involving crashes between drivers and cyclists on Lancashire roads, and he is speaking out now in a bid to help people understand the true effects for those involved.
He is pleading with all road users to act with more courtesy to prevent others from being badly hurt.
According to data obtained by Padiham-based electric bike retailer Avaris eBikes Padiham, through a Freedom of Information request, 895 cyclists in Lancashire were injured in collisions involving a vehicle between January 2019 and October 2021.
That works out as nine crashes in every 10 days, while a staggering one in three of those crashes saw the cyclist suffer serious injuries.
According to the data released by Lancashire Constabulary, Blackpool Road in Preston and Fleetwood in Broadway are the worst affected roads, with Blackpool having the highest number of collisions overall.
The figures were released as the Department for Transport brought in changes to the Highway Code to introduce a ‘hierarchy of road users’ which prioritised those most at risk of serious collisions, as well as clarifying existing rules such as cyclists being allowed to ride two abreast.
James said that data only tells part of the story, with the true impact of those crashes reaching far beyond what can be seen on a spreadsheet.
Recalling the day of his serious crash, he said it had come just months after he suffered cuts and bruises when knocked down by a hit-and-run driver.
He said: “I was on a day off, so I just went on a ride that I’d done a million times in all kinds of weather. I basically just went from 20mph to a dead stop when the driver hit me.
“I was awake through all it. I felt and heard my head crack the car windscreen. That’s a very sobering experience.
“I thought ‘this is it’. The one thing that went through my head was ‘I’m never going to kiss my wife again or hold my son.”
As he hit the ground, James knew his ankle was broken from the numb feeling. Despite the most horrific of circumstances, good fortune meant an off duty nurse, Sarah, was the first to arrive at the scene, while an off duty doctor was a few cars behind.
An ambulance soon arrived and James was taken to hospital for treatment. On this occasion, the driver stopped at the scene and admitted liability.
“Everything that could have gone right during the crash, did go right,” James recalled.
“Despite the worst of circumstances, there was so many little things that by a sheer stroke of luck went right that meant I escaped with far less injuries than I should have.
“Looking back, I should be dead. There’s no doubt about it. That messes with your head a bit.”
He was in a cast for the next few months, meaning a spell off work and an increased burden for his wife each day.
The issues did not stop when the physical injuries eased, and James estimates it took two years for the psychological effects to fully recede..
Even now, his love of cycling pushes against the loss of confidence on the roads and he now rides almost exclusively off-road.
James said: “I was diagnosed with severe PTSD and anxiety and, as a result of that, depression.
“Like most blokes my age, I wouldn’t open up about it all. To me, I didn’t think anything was wrong, but my wife said she recognised it all.
“My attention span was non-existent. I was moody all the time. I’d get upset at the slightest things and, it’s still hard to admit, I went to a very dark place - if you know what I mean.
“Thankfully, I had to go through weekly counselling sessions and that really helped me.
“I can’t recommend that process highly enough for anyone who has been through similar.
“That aside, I still can’t bring myself to go on the same roads that I always loved riding on and it’s a shame.”
Far from holding any kind of grudge, James said that he has no illwill towards the driver in question, who admitted her mistake and offered apologies after the crash.
Instead, he hopes that he can encourage all road users to be more considerate and understand that there is a person and a family involved in each of those crashes.
He said: “It takes three seconds to safely overtake cyclists and there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the Highway Code. A lot of the changes are actually just clarifications of things that already exist but it seems to have caused a lot of hate.
“If everyone just looked out for everyone else, whether it is a cyclist or lorry driver or mum and dad taking the kids to school, everyone would be a lot safer. It’s all about being considerate.
“Cyclists always just want to get from A to B without going to A&E.
James continued: “Behind the helmet, behind the cycling clothes there’s a husband, a wife, a son or a daughter.
“Everyone needs to take a breath and remember that being dangerous has real life consequences.”
Among others, changes to the Highway Code mean that if a driver, motorcyclist or cyclist is turning into or exiting a road at a junction, they should stop to let pedestrians cross.
It also clarifies that when turning in or out of a junction, or changing lane or direction, drivers should not cut across cyclists who are travelling straight ahead. Drivers must not turn if doing so would cause a cyclist to stop or swerve, and to stop and wait for a safe gap in the flow of cyclists if necessary.
Motorists are also told to also use the ‘Dutch reach’ method – using the hand on the opposite side of their door to open it – to ensure they look over their shoulder, thereby reducing the chance of hitting a passing cyclist.
They should leave at least 1.5 metres of space when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph, and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.
Richard Heys, the founder of Avaris eBikes, has welcomed the proposed updates and said he hopes the new rules will help cyclists and drivers to work better together for optimum safety on the roads: “All road users need to be aware of the Highway Code and should shoulder their responsibility to take care of others.
“This is extremely important because there is an ever-growing number of cyclists on the roads.
“A huge amount of people, even those living outside cities, are now saving time and money by using electric and traditional bikes to commute to and from work, which is very convenient to do on an eBike thanks to the pedal-assisted power.
“Fitness goals, gridlocked cities at rush-hour, general traffic, and a greater awareness of how carbon emissions are impacting our environment, mean people are switching away from car use and making smarter choices.
“We want roads to be safer places for cyclists and drivers, but this won’t come without both types of road users committing to being up-to-date with the rules and practices in place, being more aware of their surroundings, and educating themselves about all aspects of road safety.”