Peter Selkrig went out riding with a friend on April 24, when he was struck by a caravan being towed by a vehicle on Wine Country Drive.

He broke his pelvis and took skin off in several places.

Mr. Selkrig, who has competed in cycling at international level, said he was blamed by the driver for damaging the caravan, despite the fact that it was the driver who was at fault.

Even though drivers are recommended to give cyclists one metre of the lane to travel in, Mr. Selkrig was only just inside the white line when he was hit.

Mr. Selkrig said he put out his hand to signal he would be coming in from off the road as the bitumen on the side was broken.

“It’s not like I’m taking up a lane or doing anything wrong,” he said.

Mr. Selkrig asked the driver for his licence to exchange details; however the driver simply refused and drove off without even asking if Mr. Selkrig was okay.

Luckily, Mr. Selkrig’s friend managed to take a photo of the man’s licence plate to pass on to police, who are still investigating the matter.

After the accident, Mr. Selkrig continued riding for another kilometre before discovering the extent of his injuries.

“As soon as I stopped I realised it was much worse than I thought it was,” he said.

Mr. Selkrig had not long won the 50-plus division of the Oceania 24-Hour Solo Championships when he was involved in the accident.

Now, he is struggling to get around, and faces the prospect of his racing calendar for the year –including national and world championships – going down the tubes.

“It’s put my whole year in turmoil,” he said.

He has also had to take time off from his self-employed job, and his wife, Nancy Spasko, has also had to take time off work to care for him as he recovers.

Mr. Selkrig has also had to fork out for medical bills and potentially the cost of a new bike and helmet which were ruined in the accident.

“They don’t see bike riders as human,” he said.

“We’ve got families, we’ve got businesses too.”

“I wonder if he [the driver] has any compassion of what he’s done to our lives in one fell swoop,” Ms. Spasko added.

Mr. Selkrig said he always tries to stay as far left on the road as he can, tries to ride single file with other riders despite being allowed to ride two abreast and always wears bright colours to be easily seen.

But he said there are still people who don’t know or care about the road rules, and that cyclists often fear for their safety while out riding.

“I think there is a lot of ignorance,” he said.

“People just don’t have respect.”

Cessnock Cycling Club secretary Clyde Marshall said he felt sick when he heard what had happened to Mr. Selkrig.

Mr. Marshall said he thinks there should be more emphasis on people learning cycling rules while they are getting their licence.

He has had a number of friends die in cycling accidents, and even moved from Greta to Kurri so he could train in a safer area as one of the accidents happened on the road he used to cycle on.

“There is always a worry,” he said.

Simon Gillett, whose wife Amy was part of the national cycling team when she died in a cycling accident in Germany, has started a campaign to improve cyclist safety on the road.

Mr. Gillett said he was shattered when he heard of Mr. Selkrig’s accident, the pair having raced together before in October 2013.

The campaign, A Metre Matters, aims to put legislation in place rather than just driver recommendations to protect cyclists.

“It basically legitimises cyclists as motorists,” he said.

The legislation has been adopted in ACT, South Australia and Queensland where Mr. Gillett said the changes in both attitude and statistics have been fantastic.

“I like to think we can have it in every state in the next few years.”

He believes the problem can be improved by educating people and getting them talking about the issue, regardless of what their opinion is on the matter.

“It’s not about booking people; it’s about making a statement,” he said.

For more information on bike safety and road rules, visit www.amygillett.org.au/a-metre-matters or http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/bicyclists/

UPDATE: Driver responds to cyclist's claims

May 7, 2015

The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident with cyclist Peter Selkrig on April 24 has responded to the claim that the accident was his fault, as reported in last week’s Advertiser.

Billy Devine was towing his caravan along Wine Country Drive, Nulkaba when the accident occurred.

“It is my opinion that it was just that – purely an accident – but caused not by my driving but by the cyclist concerned,” he said.

“We had a dash camera running at the time and this clearly shows the two cyclists riding two abreast.

“He certainly put out a hand pointing to the ground, not a full signal, just as he veered into the lane of traffic at the moment when our vehicle was right behind his back wheel.

“We had no chance of stopping a heavy vehicle and caravan, and we were forced to veer over the middle white line slightly into oncoming traffic to avoid both cyclists.

“There was a puddle of water, after the storms, which we believe the cyclists were avoiding. This is clearly shown on our video.

“Our vehicle and caravan is over 14 metres long, and the cyclist hit the caravan, knocking off the awning rafter about 12 metres down this length.

“This means that we were two-thirds of the way past him at the time so it can hardly be said we hit the cyclist – more the opposite!”

Mr. Devine said he did not drive off without asking if Mr Selkrig was okay.

“I had to wait for a break in the traffic to turn round and return to the scene of the accident, which I did, then asked if he was alright,” Mr. Devine said.

“He had a cut on his hand and was assisted by a council worker, who had stopped his truck, to clean this with paper towelling.

“I was not given the opportunity of gaining the cyclists’ details and they remounted and rode off.”

Mr. Devine was contacted by the police and has given a full statement as well as a copy of the dash cam video.

“As a professional driver I am always conscious of road safety and regret any accident, particularly one in which someone is hurt, but cyclists need to be sensible too and aware of traffic around them with regard to width and stopping abilities,” he said.