Man left with severe injuries after horror smash reinforces need for road safety

An e-scooter rider who was left in ‘excruciating pain’ after a crash says the message of road safety must never be forgotten.

Stuart Johnson was riding an electric scooter on Weedon Road in January 2023 when he was hit by a driver turning left at the Spencer Bridge Road junction.

The 53-year-old builder was left lying in the road for 45 minutes with a broken leg and in ‘excruciating’ pain before being picked up by an ambulance.

He spent nearly three weeks in hospital and underwent two operations to fix his leg, which was broken in four places. He then underwent more than a year of rehabilitation.

Now, three years after the crash, Stuart says road safety is a message which must not be forgotten.

He said: “My experience of being hit by a driver and suffering a broken leg has changed the way I look at road safety.

“Before it happened I was like many people. You don't expect an accident to happen to you, but it can. I was fortunate that my injuries were not worse.

“What concerns me is that we seem to have lost something I remember very clearly from growing up - continued road-safety education.

“When I was young, we regularly saw the Green Cross Code. It was repeated on television and became part of everyday awareness. ‘Stop, Look, Listen and Think’ were messages that were reinforced again and again.”

Figures show 134 people were killed or seriously injured on local roads in 2025, and Stuart says he wants road safety to be brought back into the public eye.

He added: “My accident has reinforced something I already knew - you cannot take safety for granted.

“We need to bring road safety education back into everyday life. We need to keep reinforcing the messages rather than allowing them to fade away. We need better awareness, better visibility and properly maintained infrastructure.

“Most importantly, we need to put safety first — and keep saying it until it becomes part of everyone's thinking again.”

His call comes as West Northamptonshire Council launches a public consultation on its draft Road Safety Strategy, which looks at how it wants to improve road safety until 2045.

It looks at ways to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads, and also aims to help people feel safer when walking, cycling, riding a horse, motorcycle or driving.

Cllr Richard Butler, spokesman for highways and transport, said: "Everyone should be able to travel safely, no matter how they choose to do it.

"Too many people are still being killed or seriously injured on our roads. We want to do everything we can to prevent that from happening.

"This strategy sets out our ideas for making roads safer, but we want to hear what people think.

“Your views will help us shape the final plan, so I would urge everyone to take part in the consultation."

Visit www.westnorthants.gov.uk/consultations/help-shape-draft-road-safety-strategy by December 6 to read more and respond to the council’s consultation.