Hammonds Plains motorcyclist reminds other drivers to be more aware

Motorcyclist Ivy Young is nursing a broken wrist and thumb, a possible broken nose and many purple and yellow bruises after a hit and run accident last weekend in Middle Sackville, N.S.

She's hoping to help others avoid a similar fate by warning drivers to be more cautious now that more motorcycles are on the streets.

"We've been cooped up all winter and really want to get out on the road again," Young said in an interview Thursday.

Not as much protection

"It's important for everybody to be aware that there are people on the road that do not have the same protection as in a car or in a truck," she said.

"It's a hobby and we realize we don't have that protection and we are counting on society and we're counting on the public to be aware that we are on the roads."

Young was riding her motorcycle Saturday evening when a car pulled out of a driveway near the corner of Sackville Drive and Beaver Bank Cross Road in Middle Sackville.

'I had no reaction time whatsoever'

She said she was about three kilometres away from her home in Hammonds Plains when "a young fellow came flying out of a driveway."

"He was looking up the hill, trying to beat the traffic that was coming down the hill and turned his head and looked at me at the last minute," she said.

"I had no reaction time whatsoever. Just, bang. Where do I go? How do I stop?"

Police said the driver of the car kept going, leaving Young lying on the road. Officers arrested a 21-year-old Lower Sackville man a short time later. He's been ordered to appear in court July 27 to face a charge of failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Young says she was quite sore for the first few days after the accident, but is now starting to come around. She says the cast will stay on for another six to eight weeks and she is waiting to get an appointment to see a plastic surgeon about her thumb.

Bikers Down provides a lift

While she waits for her insurance to come into effect, Young is getting support from Bikers Down, a non-profit group that helps motorcyclists injured in accidents. It holds rallies and fundraisers throughout the year, including Thursday evening at Riding In Style Leather shop in Lower Sackville.

Young says she plans on getting back on a bike as soon as her injuries are healed.

"After it's all said and done, I'll be able to look back at it and it will be another story for my biker adventures," she said.