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Gerard's Story 5 2006
Surviving a Serious Crash
Anyone who’s been involved in a serious crash and has been lucky enough to walk away from it will tell you that it has a big effect on the way they look at riding. We caught up with experienced biker, Gerard Murphy, who told us about how his experience has effected his riding.
One evening in March 1995, Gerard was riding down a dual carriageway near his home with his wife Annie riding pillion. Without warning, a car coming the other way decided to turn right and ploughed into the side of the bike, sending them both flying.
Gerard remembers everything up to the point where he was transferred into an ambulance and sedated. “I found myself lying on the road unable to move. I managed to prop myself on one elbow and tried to remove my helmet but couldn’t. I didn’t realise it at the time as I didn’t feel any pain but my wrist had been broken and was flopping around all over the place.
As well as a fractured wrist, Gerard suffered a severe break to both bones in his right leg just below the knee. On arriving in Accident and Emergency, he was immediately fitted with an external fixator to hold the broken bones in place.
He spent the next two and a half months in hospital while Annie, who had suffered a compound fracture of her right femur, was in for a two months and had to spend a further six learning to walk again. Despite the severity of his injuries, Gerard never once considered not getting back on a bike.
“Even when I was lying in hospital just after the crash I was already thinking about what bike I would buy next.
In order to help his broken bones fuse back together, Gerard was fitted with a Ilizarov frame, which is similar to the external fixator and is designed to help fuse together broken bones. However, the Ilizarov didn’t have the desired effect and Gerard’s leg became infected on several occasions.
Nearly a year after the crash and after months of pain and discomfort, Gerard returned to hospital to have his leg amputated. More than ten years on, Gerard still feels the effects of the crash. “Just doing everyday things like getting up in the night to go to the toilet became more complicated. It’s also really awkward putting on leathers with a prosthetic, it can take up to half an hour.
The loss of his leg isn’t Gerard’s only physical reminder of the crash. A communications engineer by trade, he is still feels pain in his wrist on an almost daily basis.
“I work with tools a lot and after an hour or so I start to get a real ache in my wrist where it was broken”.
Gerard’s injuries meant that it was 18 months before he was able to return to work and nearly two years before he could get back on a bike.
“I started back on a XJ600, which isn’t a fast bike and I guess to begin with I was a bit over cautious. After a year I bought a GSXR750 which was maybe a little too fast and a bit scary at the time!”
Despite the crash not being his fault, Gerard has since changed his approach to riding.
“Having a serious crash and serious injury really changes your outlook on riding. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, as a biker you’re still vulnerable. You need to make sure you’re doing everything in your power to stay out of trouble. There’s no point inviting it.”
While Gerard’s experience hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for biking, it has certainly changed the way he rides. In 2004, he started to go on track days and bought a GSXR600 with race fairings.
“Nowadays I save my fast riding for the track – it’s a lot safer than the road and you can go a lot quicker. They tell you to tape up your speedo so you’re not tempted to glance at it. When you’re going at 160mph, the corners really creep up on you so taking your eyes of the track for a fraction of a second is not a good idea!
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