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SUV driver pulls out of junction and crashes into Olympic champion Katie Archibald

No bones broken for Scottish rider who is returning from injury ahead of Commonwealth Games later this year

Olympic Madison champion Katie Archibald has revealed that she was knocked off her bike at the weekend by an SUV driver who pulled out on her at a junction while she was on a training ride.

In a post on Instagram today, the 28 year old from Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, said: “Last Sunday I went flying over the bonnet of a 4x4.

“Can't say I'm loving 2022,” said Archibald, who in April broke her collarbone in a crash at the Glasgow round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

Speaking about Sunday’s incident, she said: “Lovely clear day but the driver who turned into me while I was riding past a T junction didn't see me. The ligaments in both my ankles aren't happy (grade 1 unhappiness in my right ankle and grade 2 unhappiness in my left) but are all still attached, and the only thing broken is my bike.

“We also think I've avoided another serious concussion, and the 3.5 ligaments in my dodgy right knee have survived, so celebrations are in order for that,” Archibald added.

In Tokyo last summer, Archibald partnered Dame Laura Kenny to Olympic gold in the Madison and also helped Team GB take silver in the team pursuit.

The reigning world champion in the omnium and European champion in that event as well as the scratch race and Madison, she has been named in the Scotland team for this summer’s Commonwealth Games, hosted by Birmingham.

Due to the lack of a suitable velodrome in the West Midlands, the track cycling events will be held at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark from 29 July to 1 August.

The Commonwealth Games will therefore see Archibald return to the venue where, last December, she sealed her victory in the women’s endurance category in the inaugural UCI Track Cycling Champions League.

Just last week, she told BBC Sport that “Everything is ticking along nicely” in her recovery from her World Cup crash in Glasgow.

“The physio gives me five stars every time. So I’m feeling really confident.”

Talking about the crash, she said: “I’d gone into that race not as well conditioned as I wanted to be. It was the final race in the omnium and I’d kind of pulled it all together.

“I started quite badly, I really didn't have the legs, but I was so happy with what I’d done and then I hit the deck and it was all over. I don't remember it. I walked off, I was conscious, but I woke up in a medical suite downstairs.

“By the time I’d come to, my mum had somehow made her way down,” Archibald added. “She had gotten herself a VIP pass and snuck past security and got herself into the medical suite.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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27 comments

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
0 likes

And the fact this car was an SUV played what role, exactly?  This sounds like driver error, pure and simple. If it was, he should be prosecuted: forced to take an eye-test, and re-take his licence - as should all drivers responsible for serious accidents. 

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Rendel Harris replied to Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
9 likes
Chris Hayes wrote:

And the fact this car was an SUV played what role, exactly?  

The dangers posed by ever-thicker 'A' pillars in today's strengthened cars is coming increasingly under scrutiny. Research findings published yesterday by Autoglass warn drivers of 4x4 vehicles about the dangers of A pillar blind spots.

'A' pillar blind spots are believed to be a common cause of 'Sorry mate, I didn't see you' (SMIDSY) crashes.

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Jules59 replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
14 likes

Happened to me. Discovery driver pulls out in front of me. I stopped a few cm from his door. He said didnt saty sorry though more "where the bl00dy 'ell did you come from"?
To which I replied "the fact you ask that question means you were not looking properly "
He refused to admit any error claiming "you cyclists are a bl00dy menace"
"Not as much a meance as old men driving SUVs, who dont realise their faculties are failing and who've just left the pub carpark."
He drove off.

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ktache replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
9 likes

Plus the false sense of security that driving such large and often pointless vehicles give their drivers...

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Chris Hayes replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
4 likes

Widest A pillar I've ever had was on an Audi A2.  Couldn't see a thing at junctions.  But it's perfectly possible to position any car so that you can see clearly...and if you can't, you've got a neck you can move.

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OldRidgeback replied to Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
12 likes

One thing I've noted over the years is that a lot of people who choose SUVs are poor drivers who are concerned over their safety and therefore buy large cars that give them the illusion of protection. The fact that sight lines in SUVs are often poor due to the large roof supports makes things worse, as does the high bonnet line that further restricts forward vision and simultaneously increases risks for vulnerable road users in the event of a frontal impact.

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Chris Hayes replied to OldRidgeback | 1 year ago
2 likes

We're not going to agree. This was a driver issue, pure and simple.  It always is.  But you could always let their tyres down.....

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Rendel Harris replied to Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
5 likes
Chris Hayes wrote:

We're not going to agree. This was a driver issue, pure and simple.  It always is.   But you could always let their tyres down.....

I agree with you, it is always a driver issue; sometimes the issue is the driver not realising how the design of their vehicle increases the danger for other road users and not compensating for it.

An SUV is substantially more likely to kill a pedestrian in a collision than an ordinary saloon. If a driver hits a pedestrian, that's a driver issue. If the pedestrian dies as a result of the design of the vehicle when they wouldn't have done so if it was a different vehicle, that's more than a driver issue.

But you could always try deflecting by referencing the actions of a tiny group of childish protestors rather than address the selfishness of your vehicle choice...

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peted76 | 1 year ago
15 likes

I hope the public media pick this up as a story and pitch it along the lines of 'if the best cyclists in the world are in danger on our roads, it's time to take a long look at ourselves in the mirror... 

Sorry I was dreaming again.. I'm quite sure that tomorrows headlines will read 'Archibald crashes for second time this year'... or maybe it'll read 'Another cyclist crashes into a car, the new highway code rules don't work'. 

 

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to peted76 | 1 year ago
9 likes

Suspect the headline would be 'Cyclist approaching junction too fast for conditions' OR 'Innocent SUV viciously attacked by Lone Cyclist who doesn't pay road tax' if in the Heil. 

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Clem Fandango replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 1 year ago
11 likes

Too true.  One of the trolls in the comments on the FB article is having a meltdown because it mentions that it was an SUV.  Apparently that's not fair and implies that SUVs are more dangerous than other cars and the driver would have done the same in another car so the "fact" that it was an SUV is irrelevant and shouldn't be reported.

Missing the point somewhat (deliberately) as per

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KeithBird replied to peted76 | 1 year ago
1 like
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the infamous grouse replied to KeithBird | 1 year ago
4 likes
KeithBird wrote:

Not far off: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/61661522

proof that we're to accept being hit by cars as normal everyday occurrences, and to ensure we do so safely.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to KeithBird | 1 year ago
8 likes

I thought the BBC had signed up to the guidelines to report as collisions. Obviously not. 

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mdavidford replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 1 year ago
3 likes

Just because they sign up at a corporate level doesn't mean every hack dashing off an item has read or remembered them.

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hawkinspeter replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
6 likes
mdavidford wrote:

Just because they sign up at a corporate level doesn't mean every hack dashing off an item has read or remembered them.

Don't they have some kind of editor that checks the articles before publishing them?

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
4 likes

A fellow of another web site I'm a member of used to work on the online news content at the Beeb as the main centre used to be based in Brum. I believe, as with most other areas, large swathes of people were removed due to all the cut backs instigated to neuter the organisation. So no, they probably don't have the editorials or the training to be consitant with known guidelines. 

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peted76 replied to KeithBird | 1 year ago
5 likes
KeithBird wrote:

Not far off: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/61661522

Oh those absolute ****ers! I'm putting in a complaint (that'll show em!)

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Sriracha replied to KeithBird | 1 year ago
6 likes

Indeed, notice where the agency lies;

Quote:

she injured both her ankles at the weekend when she was hit by a car.

How about, "both her ankles were injured by a motorist hitting her with their SUV at the weekend"?

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lonpfrb replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
5 likes
Sriracha wrote:

Indeed, notice where the agency lies;

Quote:

she injured both her ankles at the weekend when she was hit by a car.

How about, "both her ankles were injured by a motorist hitting her with their SUV at the weekend"?

How about a mandatory DVLA eye test for SMIDSYs who pull out from the minor road without due care and attention....

Yes, that does mean no driving until DVLA accept the test results, which is only fair while the driver could be a danger to others and themselves..

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Sriracha replied to lonpfrb | 1 year ago
1 like

I doubt the defect is with the eyes themselves, any more than a spouse with selective hearing has anything wrong with their ears.

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IanMSpencer replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
4 likes

There was an excellent article doing the rounds explaining how RAF pilots are trained to observe taking into account the poor design of our optical system, and how to apply it to driving.

Shame his ex-colleague didn't apply his RAF training when driving over Tony Slatterthwaite.

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lonpfrb replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
2 likes
Sriracha wrote:

I doubt the defect is with the eyes themselves.

Fair point, though it could be, and if it takes significant inconvenience to prompt driving with due care and attention, that's appropriate to the harm.

Selective attention may be accepted in a domestic situation, but not with control of tons of metal on the public highway, ref. Mobile phone regulation. Sorry mate I didn't see you, too busy posting on instatwattbook.

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lonpfrb replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
0 likes
Sriracha wrote:

I doubt the defect is with the eyes themselves, any more than a spouse with selective hearing has anything wrong with their ears.

Apparently some selective hearing at the highest level https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/jason-kenny-coaching-laura-would-be-a...

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Mary Willoughby replied to lonpfrb | 1 year ago
5 likes

My eyesight is crap. It's so bad that I stopped driving more than a year ago and my vision has continued to deteriorate. It wasn't a difficult decision, it was obvious to me that it's not safe for me to drive a 1.5 ton machine on public roads. 

What's scary is that as part of regular testing I've been consistenty assured that my eyesight does not fall below the legal standard to drive.

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Simon E replied to peted76 | 1 year ago
4 likes
peted76 wrote:

I hope the public media pick this up as a story and pitch it along the lines of 'if the best cyclists in the world are in danger on our roads, it's time to take a long look at ourselves in the mirror... 

Sorry I was dreaming again..

Fantasising.

I really don't know what it's going to take to improve driver behaviour.

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chrisonabike replied to Simon E | 1 year ago
3 likes

Don't try.  Just take out any awful ones as soon as we can and keep 'em out of motor vehicles.  Then put the rest in their own space, away from vulnerable road users.  Somethink like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yzZLVsTCE

What am I saying?  People aren't even safe on motorways where they're all going in the same direction.  Still, it's their choice then.

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