'I'm lucky I can still walk after motorbike crash'

A motorcyclist who said he was "very lucky" to still be able to walk after a crash has urged all bikers to wear protective clothing.

Harry Pyett broke his thigh and collarbone when he was thrown from his new £3,000 bike on Easter Monday.

While the 19-year-old, from Ipswich, was wearing a crash helmet and leather jacket, he had on non-protective cargo trousers and trainers.

Stressing the importance of wearing safety leathers, he said: "Without my protective jacket, I was told I wouldn't have been able to move again."

The crash happened when his Lexmoto LXS 125 skidded on gravel on a "really nasty" bend on the B1078 in Hemingstone, Suffolk.

"I went over the handlebars and then my vision was just spinning as I was flipping and then I hit the road," he said.

"There were about two seconds where I didn't feel a thing but then it was just the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.

"It wasn't a very nice experience to have and [I want to warn other bikers to be safe] because I thought I was invincible, but this happened to me."

After the accident Mr Pyett's friend, who was with him, called his mother, Victoria Pyett, 45, who immediately "went into autopilot".

"At 15:28 - it is etched in my brain - my phone went, and I knew straight away what had happened," she said.

"We didn't know what we were driving into. Were they scraping him off the ground? Was he alive?

"Just to see him lying in the road and knowing, as his mum, there was absolutely nothing I could do, was terrifying and heart-breaking.

"It's something I never want to see again in my life and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It could have been so much worse."

Two passing off-duty doctors and a nurse rushed to help Mr Pyett and protect him from traffic.

"There would have been people going 60mph who might not have seen me on the road and they could have hit me," he said.

"So, without those doctors and those people being there to slow down traffic and stop it, I reckon I would have been in a terrible situation – a really bad one."

Mr Pyett spent a week at Ipswich Hospital where he underwent surgery to repair his leg, with doctors using a titanium rod to realign the bone.

Mr Pyett's sister Kimberley Thompson, of Hatfield Peverel, Essex, said she felt "empty and useless" after being told of the accident

She has now launched a campaign to make it mandatory for all motorcyclists to wear safety leathers and boots.

"I could not imagine getting in a car and not putting a seatbelt on, and that's just like a flimsy bit of material that saves your life," said Miss Thompson, 23.

"You see all these crashes on television but it is not until it happens to you that you think 'Things need to change.'

"You might get a little bit hot and sweaty [wearing leathers] but if not, you could lose all the skin on your legs – I get it's expensive, but your life is worth more than that."

If her petition receives 100,000 signatures, it could be debated in Parliament.

According to government data, 315 motorcyclists were killed in Great Britain in 2023, and more than 5,400 seriously injured.

The Department for Transport said one third of those killed were in crashes without any other vehicle involved, usually in a rural area.

Miss Thompson and her brother believe a law would help "keep everyone safe" and save lives.

"People wearing just T-shirts and shorts… I wouldn't recommend it because if you come off and paralyse yourself, then that's it," said Mr Pyett.

"If you're going to get on a bike, just wear your gear because it is not worth going through all that pain and suffering. I wouldn't wish this pain on anybody."

Mr Pyett is now on a three-month recovery programme at home.

Despite suffering a serious scare, however, he is determined to ride again.

But he said: "I am not going to get back a bike without wearing the full gear, because it could have been a lot, lot worse.

"Without my protective jacket I was told I wouldn't have been able to move again. So I got very, very, very, lucky."

In the UK, a helmet must be worn while riding a motorbike, and statistics show doing so can help prevent fatal injuries by 37%.

Strict safety standards apply to helmets, and since 2018 all other items of motorcycle clothing must have a CE rating, showing they comply with requirements established by the European Union.

Properties tested include abrasion resistance, impact protection and seam strength, with Class AAA denoting the highest possible level of protection.

However, there is no legal requirement to wear these items.

Rebecca Guy, senior policy manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said wearing protective clothing "minimised the risk of fractures" and other serious injuries.

"It is really important people choose to wear motorcycle clothing," she said.

"And we would strongly support any measures that would encourage people to wear the appropriate gear because it can reduce the chances of being more seriously injured.

"But that doesn't stop the crash happening in the first place and other measures such as extra training for motorcyclists and drivers could be introduced to reduce a chance of a crash actually happening."

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