Warning after ordeal of cyclist (85) on the road at Baldernock

A Milngavie cyclist has spoken 
of his ordeal after being run off the road by a speeding 
motorist.

Norrie Quinn (85) ended up having to veer into a deep ditch to avoid collision.

The driver failed to stop, leaving the pensioner lying alone at the side of the quiet country road with his electric bike on top of him.

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Badly shocked and shaken, the senior citizen said it was a miracle he got away without being killed or seriously injured.

Now Norrie, fit for his age and an experienced cyclist, wants to put out a warning to others after the trauma he 
endured.

The accident happened last Tuesday, July 7, on Tower Road at Baldernock.

Norrie, who wears a hi-viz jacket on his bike, said: “I was cycling slowly up the hill next to the church when this white saloon car came racing round the bend towards me on the wrong side of the road. There was no way he could stop.

“It was a horrible situation but I was extremely lucky.

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“I had to take myself and the bike straight off the road because this guy was just 
going to hit me.

“Undoubtedly he would have seen me hurling myself off the road. It’s disgraceful that he never stopped.”

Norrie added: “At my age, I just wasn’t sure if I had really hurt myself or not at first. My bike was on top of me, my leg was stuck in the ditch with the water pouring over it.

“But between the ditch and a hedgerow there was grass and flowers and most of my body landed on that.

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“I just lay for a wee while and checked to make sure my arms, legs and back were all okay.”

After lying alone for about five minutes with not another person in sight, Norrie
managed to get himself up and out of the ditch.

He said: “It just shook me so much that someone could do that. I’m out on these quiet roads so often, most days of the week and have been for several years now. I have never had that 
experience before and I hope I never have it again.”

Norrie encountered a second near miss with a 
vehicle two days later, though nowhere near as bad.

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He said: “I was signalling to go right into Bardowie Road. I had a day-glo jacket on, a bright helmet and gloves, and was very very visible.

“There was a road biker coming down the hill, then suddenly a white BMW car came belting round the bend. Instead of slowing down, he drove straight between us.

“I thought then, I have to report this to the police, this can’t go on, it’s dreadful. I went to Milngavie police station but unfortunately it was closed.

“However, by luck an off-duty policeman saw me and I told him what happened. I’m not sure how much they can do though, other than step up patrols in the area.”

“By and large, the majority of cars are starting to behave themselves around cyclists but there are one or two who just don’t get it.”

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