A cyclist who had a titanium rod inserted into his leg after he was struck by a careless driver said last night that “justice has been done” after the woman who hit him was banned from the roads.
Javed Shafi was riding his bike along North Deeside Road on April 5 last year when Rebecca Christie’s green Peugeot collided with him head-on.
Mr Shafi was thrown onto the windscreen and landed on the road, knocking him unconscious.
He suffered a broken femur in three places and needed to receive surgery to insert a titanium rod into his leg.
And last night, he revealed that more than a year on from the “terrifying” accident, he will not cycle on the road.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard yesterday that Christie had been late for work on the day of the accident, and tried to overtake a lorry.
As she pulled out she realised it was not safe so tried to move back into the westbound carriageway.
However, as the 21-year-old applied the brakes she skidded and lost control of the car – ploughing straight into Mr Shafi.
Christie, of 10 Greenbreae Crescent, Aberdeen, had been charged with dangerous driving on the A93 North Deeside Road at Pitfodels, but her plea to a lesser charge of careless driving was accepted by the Crown.
Defence agent Neil McRobert asked Sheriff Kenneth Stewart to consider allowing her to keep her licence so she could drive to her work at a special needs residential school.
But Sheriff Stewart said that her action that day, on a road she knew well, was a “serious error of judgement”.
He said: “Pulling out in this situation when it was unsafe to do so was a bad example of careless driving and in that case I am satisfied there should be a period of disqualification.”
Last night Mr Shafi said he was “glad justice had been done”.
He said: “For the sake of not being late for work she overtook carelessly without proper attention. Her excessive steering once she realised I was in her overtaking path resulted in my accident.
“It’s taken a year to get back my fitness back to near where it was before the accident. I no longer cycle on the road as a result of the accident. It was a terrifying experience, which I can laugh about now but I certainly couldn’t at the time.
“My surgeon told me it could have resulted in a life changing injuries. Drivers need to be more aware and tolerant of cyclists especially when the consequences of a accident results in the cyclist coming off worst. I am glad justice has been done.”
Christie was disqualified for three months and fined £300.