Teacher Issues Safety Plea Ahead Of Road Safety Week

A PE teacher has spoken for the first time of her battle to overcome serious injuries she suffered when a driver turned across the path of her bicycle.

Keen cyclist Victoria Gibson suffered a catalogue of injuries including a traumatic brain injury, spinal fractures, a fractured eye socket as well as a broken ankle in the crash which happened near Tenby, Wales, when she was training for an Ironman competition.

A group of off-duty soldiers came to her help and administered first aid before emergency services arrived. The 43-year-old, of Wookey Hole, Somerset, spent nearly two weeks in an induced coma in intensive care after she was airlifted to hospital.

Following the collision Victoria instructed specialist serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help investigate the incident. Irwin Mitchell has now secured her a six-figure settlement to help fund the specialist therapies and rehabilitation Victoria requires to help her overcome her injuries.

Victoria has now joined her legal team at Irwin Mitchell in using Road Safety Week to urge motorists to be aware of cyclists on the roads.

Georgina Moorhead is the expert serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Victoria and her husband Tom 40.

Expert Opinion

“Victoria has made tremendous progress but still faces many challenges with her injuries likely to affect her for the rest of her life.

“Through our work we often see the consequences of what can happen when vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, are involved in collisions.

“Road Safety Week is an important time to reflect on the responsibility that all of us have to keep ourselves and others safe from harm on the road.” Georgina Moorhead - Senior Associate Solicitor

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling serious injury cases

Victoria was taking part in a long course cycling event on 8 July, 2017. She was travelling on the A4139 near Tenby, Wales, when she collided with a car which was travelling in the opposite direction. 

Victoria was taken by air ambulance to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

Her injuries meant she had to step down from her role as head of PE at Crispin School and now works part-time.

While Victoria has been able to take up sport again, she has not been able to reach her pre-injury level due to continued struggles with fatigue. Victoria also recently had issues with damage to her teeth, as well as problems with her vision and speech.

Following legal investigations the motorist’s insurance company admitted that the driver turned right across Victoria’s path without properly checking that the way was clear.

Victoria said: “It has been an incredibly difficult year trying to come to terms with not only the circumstances of the incident but also the impact it has had on my life.

“The injuries I suffered have affected all aspects of my life, from work to my ability to participate in sport. I was training for an iron man competition when the crash happened and it is hard to take that I may never reach the same level of performance.

“The support I have had from family and friends has really helped. I’m trying to stay positive and move forward with my life but no one should have to go through what I have.

“It is vital that road users do everything they can to keep each other safe.”

Road Safety Week runs from 19-25 November. This year’s ‘Bike Safe’ theme aims to reduce the number of cyclists and motorcyclist killed or injured on the roads.

In 2016 there were 18,477 cyclist casualties and 19,297 motorcyclist casualties, according to the Department for Transport.