Cycling has become a very dangerous past-time in Grand Cayman. Some cyclists – even some representatives of the Cayman Islands in international triathlon – have told horror stories of motorists with little or no regards for them on the road.

Stories of motorists driving too close to cyclists, knocking them off their bicycles or frightening them while on the road are commonplace.

Triathlete, Helga Sergel was knocked off her bicycle in August twice in as many weeks a month before she was scheduled to represent Cayman in Hawaii. This happened along South Church Street. She said that she had to miss out on that meet due to lower back injuries.

“In the last accident I fell on my butt. I work in an office all day; I had to use up my sick leave time and it hurts where I sit,” she told Cayman Net News.

Miss Sergel said it took her a few months to recover from her injuries.

Dave Walker another triathlete was seriously injured in December 2004 when he was knocked off his bicycle in Bodden Town. Mr Walker lost a lot of skin as a result of hitting the tarmac and had to have a brain scan.

Mr Walker, who has represented the Cayman Islands, said that it was months before he could get back on a bicycle and ride again.

“It has been a long road to full recovery and I still have persistent shoulder trouble, which I think is as a direct result of the accident.”

He said that motorists should be more careful when travelling in close proximity to cyclists. Mr Walker said that there are times when motorcars come so close that they could actually touch them.

“People need to give up more space on the road. They do not leave room for us on the road to avoid potholes,” he said.

Mr Walker said that cyclists should travel in groups, as they are easier to spot than single riders.

However, no matter how well riders take precaution there are some motorists that harass cyclists on the road.

“The vehicles would come up behind us and hoot. Sometimes these big trucks hauling gravel would come so close behind us. I get frightened when they do this and sometimes cyclists swerve off the road,” Miss Sergel explained to Net News.

Most of these accidents have been reported to the police, but due to the volume of investigations the Traffic Department is undertaking, not many of these types of reports are dealt with in a timely manner, cyclists are reporting.

Officers at the Traffic Department, who are overworked, said that due to the number of motor-vehicle accidents, they can only get around to deal with these incidents when time allows them.

Laura Silverman, who suffered a broken back when she was knocked off her bicycle on 13 April, is no triathlete, just a regular cyclist.

Mrs Silverman went out to run some errands and thought that using a bicycle would be easier than and as safe as driving.

She was wrong. Mrs Silverman was knocked off her bicycle near the cricket field on Smith Road and Holder Avenue. To add insult to injury, while she was lying in the road with a broken back the driver of the vehicle that knocked her down along with a companion stood over her and began scolding her.

“They were telling me it was my fault and that I was riding in the wrong lane. Then there were cars behind us blowing their horns as if to say I should get up off the road,” she told Cayman Net News.

She said that the police came and had to immobilise her so that she could be properly transported to the hospital. That was the last time the police contacted her in eight weeks. She said that over a five-week period she called the police everyday but got no response.

Mrs Silverman said that over the next three weeks she went up the police chain of command, and it was only when she spoke to the Commissioner did she get some assistance.