'Let car drivers ride motorbikes'

By Rebecca Cafe
BBC News, Plymouth

Geoff Squibb was left paralysed after a crash

A motorcyclist paralysed from the chest down after a crash has questioned the usefulness of current safety campaigns.

Geoffrey Squibb, 36, from Porthleven, Cornwall, said car drivers should learn to ride motorbikes to improve their awareness of road conditions.

Cornwall's road casualty reduction officer Bob Heayel said the police "can't sit back and do nothing because people are dying on the roads".

Motorbikes make up 4% of Cornish traffic, but account for 26% of deaths.

Since January, 42 people have been killed on the county's roads, 11 of them motorcyclists.

Last year, it was seven riders out of 45 road deaths and in 2004, 13 out of 44.

Mr Squibb became paralysed after a collision with a car at Treluswell Cross roundabout on 25 September 1990.

He was on his way back to Newquay after celebrating his parents' silver wedding anniversary.

My arms are my arms and they are my legs as well Geoffrey Squibb

"Still to this day I don't really know [how it happened]. I hit a car, went over the top and hit a kerb on my back and the bike then bounced off the car onto my chest," he said.

"When I came round I immediately knew that this was the big one. I've had a few smacks before, but then I knew I had done something special.

"Suddenly I felt totally out of control of the rest of my body - I could only control my mind and hands."

He continued: "My arms are my arms - and they are my legs as well.

"I've always been a positive person - I wasn't devastated, depressed or upset.

"I consider myself very lucky - I could've been paralysed from the neck down."

DANGEROUS ROADS B3271 at Saltash A3047 Camborne to Pool A3073 at Bude A39 Falmouth to Truro A389 at Bodmin A388 Carkeel to Callington A374 Trerulefoot to Torpoint B3292 Penryn to Falmouth A3059 St Columb to Newquay B3297 Redruth to Helston

The fear of having another accident has not deterred Mr Squibb from driving.

He uses an automatic car in which he pulls a hand lever to control the accelerator and brake pedals.

He also drives a quad bike which allows him to travel to his favourite place - the beach.

"I don't drive any differently now.

"I think accidents are fate - how do you know?

"You can't say that it'll never happen - you have to be realistic and use common sense," he said.

"If you drive past a school, drive slow, but on the same road at one in the morning, you can go faster, as long as it's within the law. It's using your brain.

"Accidents will always happen. It only takes one person to have one and slow drivers are just as dangerous."

He said drink-drive campaigns were not working and that a different approach was needed.

He suggests car drivers learn how to ride a motorbike: "Car drivers don't appreciate how hard the road is.

"A car makes you feel more comfortable and safe whereas a bike makes you feel vulnerable. "That's how accidents happen."

Speed limits

Bob Heayel said Cornwall had a high percentage of road collisions.

"We need to build up both parties' awareness of each other.

"Motorcyclists need to wear bright coloured jackets to make them more visible and drivers need to look further down the road," he said.

He said it was very difficult to measure the effectiveness of campaigns, but vehicles do slow down as soon as they see a police car.

"Speed limits are there for a reason, it is a maximum and not a target," he said.