A biker who broke both his legs after being hit by a car turning right on Lewes Road last year has called for extra safety measures after a cyclist was struck by a bus turning right in exactly the same spot last week.
Paul Banks, 38, spent ten weeks in a wheelchair and another ten on crutches following the accident at the junction with the Avenue in May last year.
An investigation is still underway as to how a 23-year-old Brighton man hit by a bus at the same place on Tuesday last week, with police yet to decide whether to bring any charges.
Mr Banks, from Manor Hill, said last May’s accident changed his life, forcing him to abandon both his career as a builder and his passion for motorbiking.
He said: “A car cut in front of me and turned up The Avenue. Whether she thought there was enough room – at the time, the grass was quite long in the central reservation so she may not have had great visibility.
“I was only on a little 125 Yamaha motorbike and I was left with life changing injuries – I broke my leg and ball join in my hip and I broke my left knee. I was in a wheelchair for ten weeks, and then on crutches for another ten weeks and still have metalwork in my hip.
“I can walk now, but I’m still on painkillers and I have got more operations to come.
“It’s taken that passion away from me. I can’t get back on a bike now. I’m a builder by trade – I was out of work for a little while and then I had the accident, and I can’t do heavy lifting anymore. Now I have to do a whole career change.
“The whole situation with the bus lane seems to gridlock the whole part of Brighton. If someone’s in the bus lane and there’s cars gridlocked, you can’t see what’s coming down that bus lane.
“People need to be aware – maybe some sort of mirror on the corner so drivers can look and see if there’s anything coming up the bus or cycle lane.”
His calls for more safety measures have been echoed by Moulsecoomb councillor Dan Yates, who said: “It’s dreadful that anybody’s been injured and I wish the cyclist a speedy recovery and I hope that he gets back to cycling soon.
“The bus company is investigating to see if there’s any lessons they can learn from it.
“There are issues at several of the right turns. People living on the Bates Estate were raising it at the local action team last week. They said that on a daily or weekly basis there are accidents involving people turning right.
“Ambulances are also being delayed because of difficulties getting across the Lewes Road.
“I have met with officers to discuss how improvements could be made and if there’s anything that could be done such as introducing pedestrian crossings or even mini roundabouts to try and break up traffic flow and enable people to really consider all road users.”
A police spokesman said that Mr Banks’ accident at 9.25pm on May 7 last year had been investigated, but there had been insufficient evidence to justify any prosecution.
He said the cyclist involved in last week’s crash had stayed in hospital overnight as a precautionary measure and was discharged the following morning.
A council spokesman said: “We are not able to comment on road traffic accidents that are currently under investigation.”
