A cyclist has been seriously injured less than a week after issuing a grim warning to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into road safety that highlighted the extreme risks cyclists face on Australian roads.
Key points:
- A woman suffered serious injuries when she was hit by a truck during a cycling event last month
- The incident occurred on what was meant to be a closed section of road
- In 2022 the TAC record the lowest number of incidents involving cyclists requiring hospitalisation in more than a decade
Rhianon Norton from the Shepparton Cycling Club spoke at the inquiry’s hearing in Shepparton last month and warned of the dangers bike users face each time they go riding.
“You are literally putting your life in someone else’s hands when they are behind the wheel,” Ms Norton said.
Her comments were eerily prophetic.
Less than a week after speaking to the inquiry, Ms Norton was seriously injured in a crash at Dookie, north-east of Shepparton, while competing in the 2023 AusCycling Masters and Junior Road National Championships.
She was racing in the masters time trial when she was hit by a truck on what was supposed to be a closed section of road.
She was placed in a coma and flown to hospital in Melbourne, where she is in a serious but stable condition.
Brett Lancaster, a former professional cyclist, Olympic gold medallist, and fellow member of the Shepparton Cycling Club, said he was shocked when he heard about Ms Norton’s crash.
“We were driving back from Dookie at the time and we had to stop the car. We felt sick,” he said.
“It has been a really tough time for the cycling community and anyone that has known her.”
Elite cyclist avoids the road
Mr Lancaster has raced and ridden on roads across the globe and competed in cycling’s biggest events, including the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
But despite his elite experience, he avoids riding on the road in Australia due to the risks.
“I’ve gone away from riding on the road myself, and ride on the dirt tracks and on a gravel bike,” he said.
“It’s just a percentage thing. The more you are out there the more you risk your life and that’s the way I look at it.
“Every time you go out there you are risking your life.”
Mr Lancaster said the injuries suffered by Ms Norton showed just how dangerous cycling could be.
“It kind of makes you think that is why I do steer away from the roads,” he said.
“If this can happen on closed roads, you can only imagine what could happen in a normal road situation.”
If you build it, they will ride
Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack said 60 per cent of people were interested in cycling, but were afraid to do so because they did not feel safe.
She said improved infrastructure for bikes could make a huge difference and encourage more people to ride.
“There needs to be dollars to be able to invest in bike infrastructure,” she said.
“Definitely separated bike infrastructure is the gold standard, where possible.
“If you provide a separated path, people do use it and they do feel safe.
“There are so many things that local councils can do and government to get more people on bikes and improve the safety.”
Trending in the right direction
According to the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), a person riding a bike is 34 times more likely than vehicle occupants to be seriously injured in a crash.
“Cyclists are more vulnerable on the roads simply because they don’t have the same protection as people in vehicles or the benefits of some of the safety features we see in cars,” TAC road safety head Samantha Cockfield said.
But Ms Cockfield said the number of fatalities and injuries cyclists were suffering in Victoria was on the way down.
Seven cyclists have been killed on Victorian roads this year — four fewer than this time last year and down on the five-year average of nine deaths.
“The numbers are fortunately looking quite good this year,” she said.
“But seven people is too many and we need to make sure whether we are a cyclist or a driver that we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves and protect others.”
Ms Cockfield said the number of serious injuries was also going down, with the TAC recording 349 claims of cyclists involving hospitalisation last year – the lowest annual mark since 2011.
“We know cycling is on the up … the fact that we can cycle safely and get all the other benefits of being a cyclist is really important,” she said.