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news
Sir Richard Branson (picture credit Strive Challenge).PNGSir Richard Branson hospitalised after “colossal” bike crash
Sir Richard Branson has been treated in hospital after what he described was a “colossal” bike crash while taking part in an event in the British Virgin Islands.
Writing on his blog, the 71-year-old revealed that he thought the brakes on his bike had failed, and said that in his opinion there was “no question” his cycle helmet had saved his life.
The billionaire businessman and adventurer was taking part in the Strive BVI challenge, a fundraising event comprising several disciplines to raise funds for the educational charity Big Change, founded by his children.
On the second day of the challenge, Branson had completed the 60km ride on the island of Tortola when he decided to do an optional additional 15km.
“I was navigating a steep corner, with a massive cliff drop to my left, a car coming up the hill, and my fellow Striver, Felix Stellmaszek, in front of me passing the car,” he said.
“I pulled on both of my brakes, but they didn’t respond. I was going faster and faster, with my options being to drop off the cliff, hit the car, or potentially run into Felix.
“I gripped both brakes as tight as I could (later learning I should have tried taking one hand off the brake and then squeezing it again), but they didn’t work. I cried out to Felix a warning – ‘brakes not working!’ – but he had no chance of getting out of the way. We crashed – hard.
“We both fell off our bikes and our heads and bodies slammed into the concrete road,” Branson continued. “There is no question that wearing helmets saved our lives – not the first time that has been the case.
“We both lay flat out on the road as the rest of the team gathered around us. I stayed still, hoping I hadn’t broken my back or paralysed myself. Slowly, I moved my limbs and was relieved they responded. Thankfully, Felix was ok too,” he added.
Branson was taken to Virgin Gorda hospital to be treated for “some severe cuts and bruises on my elbow, an extraordinarily big bump on my hip and a massive hematoma on my leg.
“But it could have been so much worse,” he added.
It’s the second time that Branson has had a serious bike crash in the British Virgin Islands.
In 2016, he said, “my life flashed before me” when he crashed after hitting a speed bump during a training ride for that year’s edition of the Virgin Strive Challenge, with his bike “completely destroyed” after it was thrown over a cliff.
> “I thought I was going to die” – Sir Richard Branson cheats death in bike crash
“I really thought I was going to die,” Branson continued. “I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life (however, perhaps they should build bike helmets that protect the side of the face too - does anyone know of one?).
“My bike went flying off the cliff and disappeared. We’ve since recovered the crumpled bicycle, completely destroyed. My cheek has been badly damaged and my knee, chin, shoulder and body severely cut.
“As I landed, once I realised I was alive, I began testing my movement. I really couldn't believe I was alive, let alone not paralysed,” added Branson, who sustained a fractured cheek and torn ligaments in that crash.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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75 comments
Correct, if it splits it failed, it didn't contain any impact in its structure. Almost all these "A helmet saved my life" are images of failed helmets that did nothing but save some nasty road rash.
Nope, split in two implies that the force of the impact went into destroying the helmet, instead of the skull or the squishy brain inside.
Except that polystyrene is very weak under tension (strong under compression) and isn't designed/tested to work that way.
It will still have deflected energy of the impact away from the head. It doesn't need to absorb it, just reduce the amount that reaches the head in some way.
When I had an "off" riding through a ford at the bottom of a hill (there are some in Lincs) I didn't claim the helmet had saved my life but I definitiely preferred seeing the dent in a replaceable piece of plastic than in my head.
It'd definitely absorbed/deflected some energy but not as much as if it hadn't failed. I just doubt the logic of claiming that a helmet "worked" when it shows signs of failure. It'd make more sense if it was a polycarbonate motorbike helmet as they take a lot of energy to crack.
I'm not saying that helmets don't provide any protection, but that they're mainly a distraction. In this case, the brake failure seems the thing to focus on.
I'm always curious about this notion of "deflecting" or "absorbing" the "energy of an impact", prevent it "reaching the head".
Energy is not a vector, it has no direction, so talk of "deflecting" it is misguided.
The notion of the "energy of the impact" is also a bit wooly. Impacts don't have an energy, they have a force. The only energy in the scenario is the kinetic energy of the head in motion, and since that is already a property of the head it makes no sense to talk about deflecting it from reaching the head.
It makes more sense to think in terms of force and deceleration acting on the head, and in particular the brain. If your head is travelling at 20mph before the incident and 0mph after, then what matters is the time over which that change takes place. Anything which increases the time reduces the force and deceleration experienced by your head.
The idea behind EPS is that by crushing and compressing it extends the time to slow your head. It might also, by dint of its thickness, prevent objects penetrating through to the skull. However if the EPS simply splits apart without first crushing then it achieves nothing.
Try taking some expanded polystyrene, a ceiling tile will do nicely, and try snapping it between your fingers; easy isn't it, taking almost no effort. Now try crushing it between your fingers; much more difficult, taking a lot more effort and not very successful. That's the difference in energy required to split a helmet and to crush it, and if it's split, it has absorbed very little energy, but there are thousands of "helmet saved my life" stories with pictures of helmets that failed catastrophically, and provided almost no protection.
You appear to be making assertions from a non-expert position. You can't simply say 'it will still have deflected energy of the impact away from the head'. What is the scientific basis for your statement? Like I replied above, follow @FastOrFar on twitter - he's a cycling coach and automotive safety testing engineer who does this stuff for a living. He will debunk your theories in seconds.
That's not true. You need to follow @FastOrFar on twitter - he is an automotive testing engineer who has tested cycle helmets professionally. He categorically states that a cracked helmet has failed as it has fractured and NOT dissipated the forces as designed, certainly not preventing the forces being transferred to the head of the wearer. A cracked helmet in the very simple EN1078 certification process would fail the test. Having said that, the tests don't even drop a helmet from adult head height - from 1.5m with no forward momentum onto a flat surface, and from 1m with no forwards momentum onto an angled kerb. Good luck believing a helmet will 'save your life' descending a mountain at speed and having an off with any significant forward momentum and from a head height greater than 1.5m. You'll need it.
A helmet that has split has provided very little protection. They are supposed to work by deforming the inner layer, but I've never seen a helmet which did that before it split.
Just FYI, that was his 2016 crash, he wasn't a septuagenarian then.
How could both brakes have failed at the same time.. ideas, anyone? He is one lucky billionaire, glad he's OK.
Rear brake wouldn't do too much at speeds without front. Might have over cooked them abit as well.
It has been suggested the bike may have been put upside down for a while. Although a closed system, any trapped air could conceivably then rise to the calipers and thus the first application or two might not put the brakes on effectively. It is interesting that Branson was quoted as saying someone told him the correct reaction to hydraulic brake failures such as this would be to release and reapply the brakes - makes it sound like they recovered his bike and on inspection a couple of pumps had the brakes working fine again.
Not the first time a helmet saved his life. Was he also wearing one when he ended up upside down in his crashed 4x4 on the M42 (I think?)
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