A CYCLIST narrowly avoided death in a road smash – just two days after taking part in a bike safety protest at the Scottish Parliament.
Jemma Smith was hurled 15 metres from her bike and in to the path of oncoming traffic, smashing her helmet in two.
The 25-year-old, who was lucky to escape with concussion and knee ligament damage, was hit by a car on Monday as she cycled to work in Edinburgh.
Jemma Smith was thrown into the path of oncoming traffic
The analyst with Standard Life was one of 3,000 cyclists who took part in the Pedal on Parliament event on Saturday to highlight bike safety.
Jemma said she was hit by a car at a busy junction in bad weather.
“Perhaps she could not see just as well but as I passed the junction she accelerated and hit me.
“I went up in the air with my bike attached.
“I flew through the air for about fifteen metres and then I landed on my head, slid down to my shoulder and skidded along the road for a bit.
“I saw the sky and my first instinct was to get away out of the traffic.”
Jemma added: “It was all quite ironic after I had attended the Pedal Parliament event on Saturday. To think that only a day or two ago I was on my bike trying to highlight the need for increased road safety.
“The hospital said it will take about 4-6 weeks for me to recover.”
The helmet Jemma was wearing prevented serious injury
The Pedal on Parliament event was originally expected to draw a crowd of around 300 but ten times as many turned up.
Kim Harding, of Pedal on Parliament, called for the speed limit to be reduced to 20mph to avoid such accidents such.
He said: “It’s quite unlucky this happened so soon after the protest, but unfortunately these things happen quite regularly.
“She’s quite lucky she wasn’t more seriously hurt.
“We need to change the way we do things. One of the issues is around speed limits in busy areas.
“If drivers are moving slower they have more time to look around them.”
Jemma’s brand new bike before the accident
Cyclist Andrew McNicoll was killed on an Edinburgh road in January this year, after an accident involving an lorry.
Just two months later another cyclist, 40-year-old Bryan Simmons, died in a crash on Corstorphine road in the city.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: “Lothian and Borders Police responded to Drum Brae Avenue at around 7.15am on Monday 30th April following a collision between a car and a pedal cycle.”
The spokesman said no further action was being taken over the accident.
