Call to end the cycle light lottery

A cyclist is raising awareness of the importance of cycle lights and lighting on cycle paths after his colleague was seriously injured in a head-on collision in the dark.

Medical researcher and father-of-two, Michael Hodskinson, suffered multiple broken bones in his face and was left temporarily unable to walk following the collision on the DNA cycle path from Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Surgeons told Michael, 44, that a millimetre difference in the injury could have left him permanently paralysed.

Mark Troll, who works at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) with Michael, has launched a petition calling for improvements to the path, as well as raising awareness of cycle lights.

“I’ve been lucky really, they were serious injuries,” said Michael. “A millimetre or so difference in my spinal damage and it could have been paralysis. I’m still regaining function, but I’m definitely on the right track.”

Michael was heading home to Sawston when he was involved in a head-on collision with a cyclist who did not have any lights.

“The accident is a bit of blur,” explained Michael. The handlebar of his bike hit him, causing multiple broken bones in his face and jaw, as well as damage to his spine, and left him temporarily unable to walk.

“My jaw was fractured and all around my eye. I saw the CT scan and pretty much everything was broken in my face. I was wearing a helmet, so that must have sustained some of the impact, but I think the impact must have come to the front of my face.”

Michael had surgery the following day and was in hospital for eight weeks. He praised the superb care he received at Addenbrooke’s.

The person who hit Michael rode off, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Fortunately, a passing pedestrian found Michael and called for help. He was taken on the short trip to Addenbrooke’s by helicopter.

Michael has been out of hospital for several weeks and is able to work part-time from home while he recovers.

“He’s still very much recovering,” said Mark. “When I started the petition I got quite a few responses from people saying something similar had happened to them, not on this trail, but front-on collisions with bicyclists in the dark who don’t have lights.”

“It does get a huge amount of use that cycle path, and in this case it was pretty horrific the injuries that I sustained, but there’s been multiple occasions when I’ve had near misses,” said Michael.

After conducting his own research Mark said he found most head-on bicycle collisions seem to occur on designated bike trails and are often not reported to police. His petition, which has been lodged with Cambridgeshire County Council, has nearly 500 names.

Mark said: “I think it needs to be emphasised that a collision like this can have serious effects and that two bicycles colliding is not always just a matter of people brushing it off and carrying on.

“I would love to have greater awareness for cycle lighting. My feeling is that there are some people who, for one reason or another, just don’t bother with lights.

“There’s also a real danger to pedestrians who do not carry lights and while the combined impact speed will be lower, it could have serious consequences.”

Mark’s petition is calling for the path to be made wider and to have overhead lighting. He said the current ground-level lighting just pushes cyclists toward each other into the middle of the path.

“Even with everybody with lights, it’s still a very narrow path. It’s very tricky to pass. It’s a bad design, nobody realised the level of usage it was going to have,” he said.

Michael had lights, but said when he gets back on his bike, he’ll also ensure he is wearing a high visibility jacket.

The cycle path was built in 2005 and usage has increased as more buildings opened at Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

A spokesperson for CamCycle said: “This petition highlights the upgrades that must be made to this path through the Sawston Greenways project and when the railway is widened by Network Rail. The path must be made wider with at least a separate footway of 1.8m and cycleway of 3.5m and appropriate lighting provided. This work is particularly urgent given the use of this path by around 1,000 people cycling each day, significantly more than the usage predicted when the path was first designed.”

In relation to cycle lights, the spokesperson added: “As the clocks change and the evenings become darker earlier, we urge people to ensure their cycle lights are in good working order, charged and attached to their bikes.”

A county council spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear about the recent incident on the cycleway and we hope the person involved makes a full recovery. We’re aware of the petition to widen the path and we’re speaking to the organiser to identify options to address the issues.”

A consultation on the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) Sawston Greenways project has ended, but comments can still be made on its Cambridge South East Transport project which aims to provide better public transport, walking and cycling options for those who travel in the A1307 and A1301 area.

Camcycle has safety advice at camcycle.org.uk/welcome to cycling where there is also a video to promote safe and respectful cycling, including the use of cycle lights.

Rutland Cycling is offering an ETC Compact 4 and Tail Bright 5 Twin Set bike light set for £9.99 (was £23.99). It is available at its stores at Grand Arcade, Cambridge station, Barnwell Road, and Histon or from rutlandcycling.com.

Sign the petition at tinyurl.com/yxgcrta7.