Sheffield doctor’s life-threatening accident sparks petition for safer cycling routes UK News

Dr James Meiring was cycling to his home just off Ecclesall Road near Bents Green when his bike was involved in a collision with a delivery truck on Burngreave Road.

The father of three, an infection specialist and caring for Covid patients since the start of the pandemic, fractured six ribs and a finger in the April 6 accident and also suffered a lung collapse, which can occur prove fatal.

Fortunately, he is recovering well after the accident, having spent three days in the hospital and signed off for four weeks, and does not expect to sustain any lasting injuries.

But this terrifying episode highlighted the need for better cycling facilities and prompted a petition for a safe and continuous cycle lane between Northern General Hospital and Sheffield city center, via Pitsmoor Road or Burngreave Road.

“It was a serious accident, but it could easily have been a lot worse if I had hit my head or my spine,” said Dr Meiring, who praised the “absolutely exceptional” care he had received. staff at Sheffield teaching hospitals.

“If you ask a cyclist who commutes to work every day, he could probably tell you about at least one incident in the past month where he had to brake or take evasive action to avoid being hit, and you are constantly aware that what you are doing is not as safe as it should be.

“The cycling infrastructure in and around Sheffield is frankly crap, especially as it is being promoted as the open-air city with the Peak District on our doorstep.”

Dr Meiring says there are many routes that could be the subject of a better cycling offer, and not just lanes painted red which are often overlooked by drivers and often end abruptly.

But he believes that the one between the city center and the General Hospital of the North deserves special attention because of the more than 6,000 employees who are employed there and the many visitors who would benefit from it.

Luke Hunt, who started the petition, said Dr Meiring’s crash was the latest in a long list of motor vehicle-bicycle collisions on this route – many of which he said could have been avoided thanks to the addition of a safe cycle path.

He also claimed that improving cycling facilities would give more people currently discouraged by dangerous roads the confidence to get on their bikes, which would help reduce congestion and air pollution.

“The council is currently investing in the city’s cycling infrastructure, but improvements in the provision of bicycles to the General Hospital of the North are not in the plans. This is a major omission given that around 7 000 people work on the North site, ”the petition indicates.

“We urge the council to invest in a safe, continuous and direct cycle route between Northern General Hospital and Sheffield city center, up the Pitsmoor or Burngreave road.”