Cycling helmet saves life of Kendal athlete

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co....dal_athlet e/

18 August 2010

A KEEN Kendal athlete is lucky to be alive after colliding with a tractor
whilst out on his bike.

Billy Procter, 53, suffered severe cuts, bruising and broke a bone in his
neck after the incident near the junction of Park Road and Thwaite Flat Road
in Barrow, shortly before 10.45am last Saturday.

Mr Procter, who is a keen fell runner and a coach at Helm Hill Athletics
Club, does not remember anything about the accident.

"I remember riding along the road from Kendal on my way to visit my son in
Barrow and next thing I was in hospital," he said.

"I'm in a bad way, but having seen a couple of photos there is no doubt that
my cycling helmet saved my life. I was very lucky. I don't even remember
seeing a tractor, let alone hitting it. I have some bad cuts and bruises,
but I'll recover and I'm happy to be alive."

Mr Procter, who is a site manager at Queen Katherine School, cycles every
day and regularly goes out for two or three hours on his racing bike.

Following the incident passers-by contacted the emergency services, and
police closed off the road for a short time.

"Somehow they got in touch with my son Lee, who told my wife Yvonne and my
other son, Ben," said Mr Procter. "It just shows that sometimes you never
know what is coming next and how important the correct safety equipment is,
as without my helmet, I believe I would have died.

"The helmet is all smashed up and to be honest I'm as bad as anybody else, I
don't always put my helmet on if I'm just popping to the shops. But I would
urge anybody to do so whenever they ride a bike. I certainly will."

The incident has prompted the Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents
(ROSPA) to reiterate the importance of wearing a cycle helmet.

A spokesperson said: "This is an amazing example of how effective a cycle
helmet can be in an accident. Whilst it is not law, research does show that
helmets do increase the chances of recovery in all types of cycle accidents.

"Whilst they will not stop an accident, they can save lives when one
happens."

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: "We were called to the incident
shortly before 11am by ambulance crews who reported a cyclist who had
suffered serious injuries after colliding with a stationary tractor, driven
by a local man aged 20. He was taken to Furness General Hospital. An
investigation is ongoing."

"Mr. Benn" wrote in message
...
http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co....dal_athlet e/

18 August 2010

A KEEN Kendal athlete is lucky to be alive after colliding with a tractor
whilst out on his bike.

Billy Procter, 53, suffered severe cuts, bruising and broke a bone in his
neck after the incident near the junction of Park Road and Thwaite Flat
Road in Barrow, shortly before 10.45am last Saturday.

Mr Procter, who is a keen fell runner and a coach at Helm Hill Athletics
Club, does not remember anything about the accident.

"I remember riding along the road from Kendal on my way to visit my son in
Barrow and next thing I was in hospital," he said.

"I'm in a bad way, but having seen a couple of photos there is no doubt
that my cycling helmet saved my life. I was very lucky. I don't even
remember seeing a tractor, let alone hitting it. I have some bad cuts and
bruises, but I'll recover and I'm happy to be alive."

Mr Procter, who is a site manager at Queen Katherine School, cycles every
day and regularly goes out for two or three hours on his racing bike.

Following the incident passers-by contacted the emergency services, and
police closed off the road for a short time.

"Somehow they got in touch with my son Lee, who told my wife Yvonne and my
other son, Ben," said Mr Procter. "It just shows that sometimes you never
know what is coming next and how important the correct safety equipment
is, as without my helmet, I believe I would have died.

"The helmet is all smashed up and to be honest I'm as bad as anybody else,
I don't always put my helmet on if I'm just popping to the shops. But I
would urge anybody to do so whenever they ride a bike. I certainly will."

The incident has prompted the Royal Society For The Prevention Of
Accidents (ROSPA) to reiterate the importance of wearing a cycle helmet.

A spokesperson said: "This is an amazing example of how effective a cycle
helmet can be in an accident. Whilst it is not law, research does show
that helmets do increase the chances of recovery in all types of cycle
accidents.

"Whilst they will not stop an accident, they can save lives when one
happens."

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: "We were called to the incident
shortly before 11am by ambulance crews who reported a cyclist who had
suffered serious injuries after colliding with a stationary tractor,
driven by a local man aged 20. He was taken to Furness General Hospital.
An investigation is ongoing."

the helmet caused his hearing and vision to be effected and was therefore
responsible for the crash, when will they learn?