OPINION
Hearing the testimony of Christian Ashby at yesterday’s trial is a sobering reminder of how one incident can so radically change a person’s life.
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"It's fair to say this incident ruined me," Mr Ashby told the court.
Worse still is that like so many victims of road accidents, the committed triathlete was simply out training and do nothing to bring the life changing trauma upon him.
The incident on Good Friday morning last year which so shocked the cycling community in Ballarat and many more road users, has now reached its final stage in court.
The culpability of Rebekah Stewart, who has pleaded guilty to numerous charges including dangerous driving, is up for the courts to decide and to punish accordingly but it is worth reflecting on just how devastating the resonance of her near-fatal decision.
Before the crash the ultrafit young man, Ashby believed life couldn't be better but now pain has become an everyday part of his life.
Ashby has undergone 12 operations, after suffering two punctured lungs, nine fractured ribs, crushed bones in his hand and a damaged kidney.
Ashby showed the court his deformed hand which he will never be able to use properly.
Tragically this has even affected his ability to interact with his children like any other dad.
"I cannot throw my children in the pool like any other father. I feel I've failed my children due to no fault of my own," Ashby told the court.
But much as Ashby’s courage in fighting on and testifying is worth applauding, this should also be a message; a harrowing warning for all about the vulnerability of other road users.
The reality is cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and even mobility scooters are no match for a hurtling tonne of steel and yet under the reality of our road rules they must share this same thoroughfare.
Time and time again we hear the need for better infrastructure and separated road use but before that time comes the most critical element of all must be mutual awareness.
And there are many drivers in Ballarat who whether through ignorance, incompetence, distraction or other causes are simply not aware these users are out there.
This may be a trial about cause but the lesson for all is in the impact.