Geelong cyclists and motorcyclists over-represented in road trauma

A boom in two-wheel ownership has cyclists and motorcyclists at greater risk than ever on Geelong roads. A man rendered quadriplegic after a careless driver knocked him off his bike has told his emotional story of the “ripple effect” on his life.

David Clutterbuck appears to be comfortable chatting about the moment he was rendered quadriplegic.

He calmly recalls the flash of something appearing in front of him as he cycled through a Breakwater roundabout in late 2017, and also regaining consciousness some time later as he lay on the warm bitumen, stuck looking up at the blue sky.

David Clutterbuck shares his story about being hit by a car while cycling in 2017, leaving him a quadriplegic.

He even keeps his composure while describing the moment it dawned on him his arms and legs were no longer functioning, and his blunt declaration to his beloved wife Carolyn when she arrived at the scene – “I’m f***ed. I can’t move”.

He lowers his already subdued voice to repeat the profanity, but the rest is easy enough to chat about now, four years since his back was broken by a drug driver.

There is a part of David’s story which does hurt to talk about, and causes hurt to cloud over his bright eyes: describing how his grandkids sometimes look at him.

“My grandchildren were very young when this happened, and they would jump all over the rest of the family, but they would look at me sideways,” David says, softly, from his motorised wheelchair. “Because I’m different. They don’t quite understand it.”

“I always wanted to be heavily involved with the grandkids. Before the accident my oldest granddaughter and I, we’d go out down to the coffee shop and I’d take the paper and get her a bubbacino and we’d have a bit of a chat. We did all sorts of things together.

“I miss that. I’ve missed that opportunity.

“We’re getting there with the kids these days. We’ve got a rapport, but I still can’t get down on the floor and play with them, take them down to the park, go and buy and ice cream, or sit down and play a game with them. All I can do is try to engage them verbally. That’s the sum total of it.”

As David describes it, the impact on his relationship with the grandkids is just part of the “huge ripple effect” of the road trauma he continues to experience. His own physical and mental injuries are immense and multifaceted, but there are also the significant impacts his family and friends experience – “It ripples out quite a way,” he explains.

Before the accident, David would cycle from his East Geelong home to the Bellarine, town-hopping for about 60km before arriving back at his doorstep.

These rides were filled with frequent reminders of his vulnerability on two wheels.

“Regularly you get very close to contact with something like a cement truck or some other large vehicle, or a motorist who wasn’t quite paying attention, and dare I say it the odd motorist who thought it was funny to give you a bit of a hurry up because they don’t like cyclists on the road,” David says.

David was about a kilometre away from his front doorstep at the end of a regular ride around 11am on November 11, 2017 when Lyn Westerman failed to give way at the intersection of Carr St and Breakwater Rd, driving into the then-69-year-old experienced cyclist.

David had been wearing reflective clothing and had flashing lights on his bike, even despite it being a clear and dry day, but Westerman was a daily cannabis smoker, and had not noticed him.

During a 2019 trial it was revealed Westerman’s blood contained almost double the amount of the psychoactive chemical in cannabis known to impact driving when it was taken less than three hours after the crash.

Westerman pleaded guilty to drug-driving and dangerous driving causing serious injury, and was put on a three-year community corrections order requiring her to undergo drug treatment and complete 200 hours of unpaid community service.

Her victim’s injuries will last a lifetime.

David chose to share his story this week to help bring attention to the need for all road users to take care this holiday period, particularly when it came to sharing the roads with cyclists.

“Just slow down, be patient,” he said. “Give them a bit of space, give them the metre-and-a-half that they deserve.”

“If you’re five minutes late, you’re five minutes late. The world is not going to end.”

Two-wheel road users over-represented in road toll

Vulnerable road users are over represented in the region’s road toll, with motorcyclists and cyclists accounting for 17 per cent of fatalities across Geelong roads over the past decade.

And authorities fear these road users could be at even greater risk this festive season as more motorcyclists and bike riders hit the road than ever before.

Concerning Transport Accident Commission data shows 17 fatalities, recorded in Greater Geelong since 2011, involved these road users – with eight cyclists and nine motorcyclists killed over this period. All were men.

A further 472 claims involving hospitalisations were lodged with TAC – with 291 from motorcyclists and 181 claims lodged by cyclists. All but 66 were males.

Despite this, the number of recreational riders has continued to climb with 2020 TAC research suggesting weekday cycling volumes were up 125 per cent on the November 2019 baseline, and weekend volumes up 134 per cent.

Geelong Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Craig Stevens said police saw a lot of road trauma involving motorcyclists and cyclists.

He said 84 per cent of motorcycle crashes along the Surf Coast were single vehicles collisions – indicating that driver inexperience, road conditions or unfamiliarity with the road contributed to the crashes.

“This is very significant … (also) people driving motor vehicles need to keep a look out for motorcyclists because they are very vulnerable and can incur significant injuries because of a collision with a vehicle.

“Sometimes, there can be fatal consequences.”

Sergeant Stevens said cyclists were “equally as vulnerable, if not more”.

“There’s always a fear when you hear cyclists or motorcyclists involved in accidents – because you know it’s not going to be a good outcome,” he said.

“There are not many of these people that are involved in an accident that walk away with no injuries.

“So they either have lifelong injuries or, at times, it can be fatal.”

He said police would be saturating the region’s roads over the summer period to prevent these types of crashes and would be cracking down on all road users who flout the rules.

Road safety minister Ben Carroll said all road users deserved to feel safe on the road.

“People who ride bikes and motorbikes are more vulnerable because they have little or no protection, and the risk is heightened with busier roads and more riders out and about,” he said.

He said the government was supporting these road users through changes to Victoria’s road rules earlier this year to provide a clear direction on how much space motorists should give cyclists when passing and by funding world-leading MotoCAP motorcyclist safety gear rating program research in Geelong.

“We are asking every road user – whether you’re driving, riding or walking – to look out for each other, share the road and be extra vigilant,” he said.

TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore urged anyone who had not ridden in a while to take care and avoid riding alone.

“People on two wheels are at greater risk of death and injury in a crash, and we all need to be

vigilant – particularly in popular holiday areas like the Geelong region,” he said.

Originally published as Geelong cyclists and motorcyclists over-represented in road trauma