Jeremy Vine co-presenter Storm Huntley has said she “would not be here this morning” if she had not been wearing a helmet when she was knocked off her bicycle by a car.
The TV presenter, who stars opposite Vine on the Channel 5 show that bears his name, said she was hit by a car that crossed her path to make a left turn while she was cycling home from work in London on Monday.
She hit the pavement so hard that she cracked her helmet, but said she was relieved it was not her skull.
"If I wasn't wearing my helmet the crack would've been in my skull and I wouldn't be here this morning"
On her ride home from work @StormHuntley was knocked off her bike by a driver who turned left without seeing her.
Fortunately Storm is OK – but has this message.#JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/iWeZCy2yiU
— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) August 10, 2021
Detailing the crash on Tuesday morning’s programme, Huntley said: “I am knocked off my bike and I bang my head so hard on the pavement that I crack my helmet.
“I am standing here today thanking my lucky stars that I decided to put my helmet on because if I wasn’t wearing that, that crack wouldn’t be on my helmet, it would be on my skull, so I would not be here this morning.
“The driver was shaken, there was no aggression, there was nobody being competitive on the road, that was an accident.
“Accidents happen, please put your helmets on, and even if you think you’re a good driver, double check.”
I’m sad to say I was knocked off my bike cycling home from work by a car turning left who hadn’t seen me.
My helmet is cracked but at least it wasn’t my skull!
If I wasn’t wearing my helmet this could have been a very different story. Please wear a helmet!! pic.twitter.com/nLa4GnIpa6
— Storm Huntley (@StormHuntley) August 9, 2021
Vine, who is a keen cyclist, branded the motorist “a shocking driver”, adding: “He shouldn’t be on the road.”
It comes after the broadcaster sparked controversy by sharing a video on Twitter of cyclists riding four abreast on a country road and saying: “People who cycle in the country should be encouraged to ride 2, 3 and 4 abreast like this.
“For the following reasons: 1. It calms the traffic behind them 2. It makes it less easy for bad drivers to attempt dangerous passes 3. It is more pleasant and sociable for them.”
Some of the 6,300 comments on the footage accused the cyclists of “self-entitlement” and “blocking the road”.
People who cycle in the country should be encouraged to ride 2, 3 and 4 abreast like this. For the following reasons:
1. It calms the traffic behind them2. It makes it less easy for bad drivers to attempt dangerous passes 3. It is more pleasant and sociable for them. pic.twitter.com/vqi4dsuUSs
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) August 8, 2021
Speaking on the show, Vine said he would “absolutely” still encourage people to cycle after Huntley’s accident, saying: “If you don’t cycle, you end up a couch potato.”
However, Huntley told him: “I think my other half put the bike in the bin, he’s like, ‘No more cycling for you’, because it is incredibly dangerous, and if the shoe was on the other foot and he was cycling and he had an accident the way I’ve had and came back with a bike in a state that come back, and a helmet, I would not want him back on that bike.”
Vine said such accidents make cyclists behave the way they do, adding: “When people say all cyclists are so arrogant and so angry, that’s why, because they have got battlefield vision.
“I do 15 miles a day and I’m constantly like, ‘Where is that driver?’”
Huntley replied: “But that’s no fun. I love cycling it’s great to be out in the fresh air, you’re not polluting anything, you’re not getting involved in the congestion of all the cars.
“I loved cycling home but I don’t want to have that battlefield mentality, it puts me off doing it. Nobody wants to be that angry all of that time and that worried all of the time.”