{"id":650360,"date":"2026-10-10T07:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T07:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/650360\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T07:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T07:24:15","slug":"one-fall-without-a-helmet-changed-my-life-forever-cyclist-fronts-new-road-safety-campaign-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/650360\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018One fall without a helmet changed my life forever\u2019: Cyclist fronts new road safety campaign \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fall from his bike aged 14 has changed the trajectory of Niall Connor\u2019s life, leaving him with a permanent brain injury. Now, the Dundalk<\/a> man is the face of a new road safety<\/a> campaign encouraging cyclists to wear a helmet.<\/p>\n

Connor (45) was cycling home, lost control on a downhill stretch and collided with a wall, he told The Irish Times<\/a>. He was not wearing a helmet that day, falling into a 10-day coma and suffering a significant brain injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had my whole life in front of me up until that day,\u201d he said. \u201cOne fall from a bike without a helmet changed my life forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lived with this brain injury for 30 years. If I could turn back time, I\u2019d wear a helmet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fall which \u201cchanged everything\u201d for Niall Connor has impeded his speech and left him with lifelong physical impairments in his arms and along his left side.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig time,\u201d he said, when asked if cyclists and young people lack an understanding of the consequences they face from failing to wear a helmet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t stop kids being fearless, but we can protect them. We only get one life, protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it is crucial that people wear their helmets: \u201cEverybody has only one life. Be safe on the road, wear a helmet if you\u2019re cycling, including you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Irish law, although wearing one is strongly recommended, adult cyclists are not legally required to wear a helmet. Connor believes that should be changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be a law now that you must wear a helmet, especially on e-scooters and e-bikes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Connor has become a campaigner for safer cycling, bringing his advocacy to Leinster House and meeting the Minister of State for Road Safety, Se\u00e1n Canney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MinisterMinister of State for Road Safety Se\u00e1n Canney. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Former Kerry footballer says \u201810 seconds of recklessness\u2019 by driver changed his life foreverOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Canney said the story is a \u201cpowerful reminder that the decisions we make on the road can have lifelong consequences\u201d and that he was \u201cvery moved by [Connor\u2019s] story and his willingness to take part in this very important campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nuala Carey, RSA director for external affairs, said Connor\u2019s experience is a \u201cpowerful reminder that a split-second moment can change a life forever, even when the moment that causes it lasts only seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said personal stories \u201ccan reach people in a way statistics never will\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2026 to date, 12 of the 143 people who died on Irish roads were cyclists with a further four being e-scooter or e-bike riders.<\/p>\n

With three months left in the year, this figure is ahead of the five-year average from 2020. During that period, an average of 9 cyclists were killed and an average of 256 cyclists were seriously injured each year. <\/p>\n

Men made up 87 per cent of deaths during those five years, and 78 per cent of those seriously injured.<\/p>\n

Connor\u2019s experience is also included in a report by Rehab Group, an Irish voluntary organisation supporting disabled people, which has identified serious issues with the accessibility and affordability of public transport.<\/p>\n

While fleets have been made affordable, the infrastructure is lagging behind, the report found, with many stops in regional areas not enabling wheelchairs to board buses.<\/p>\n

The impact, Rehab Group said, is that people with disabilities are prevented from working, accessing education and taking part in community life because of the inaccessibility and unreliability of the transport network.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Under-18s banned from using e-scootersOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fall from his bike aged 14 has changed the trajectory of Niall Connor\u2019s life, leaving him with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4741,9690,61,60,9689,43,16456,11318,49783],"class_list":["post-650360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-cycling","tag-dundalk","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-louth","tag-news","tag-public-transport","tag-road-safety","tag-road-safety-authority"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}