NEWS 1130 Worst Commute winner is a cyclist who has had some close calls

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The next winner in our Worst Commute contest may make drivers think twice the next time they feel their drive in to the office was a little dicey.

Aaron Hyndes tells us what he’s gone through every day for the last few years.

My commute to work is very scary. I have cycled to work now for over five years and I have had some very close calls. About one year in I had a semi lose control and was head-on into me. I thought it was going to be all over. It was slushy out and somehow we just missed each other. The driver had thought he had hit me. I have tons of lights and reflectors and seem to add things with every close call. On one of the stormy nights last week I watched three cars run red lights on my commute home. One of them almost hitting me as I was in the middle of the intersection. Then I was on to a residential street and I had a guy in the wrong lane not even watching where he was going and driving head-on into me. I yelled and yelled until he looked up and at the last minute he switched back to his proper lane. I was considering crashing into parked cars to avoid it.

Last year was my first big accident — it’s a long story in which I broke my collarbone. I have had so many close calls that I have stopped counting.

What I love about cycling is most of the times it is a good way to unwind and stay very fit. Sometimes it can be very scary. People do things to cyclists that they would never do if it was a car. Even pedestrians will walk in front of you and if it was a car I hope they wouldn’t do the same thing. It’s my favourite way to get to work now but at times it really can be very scary. It started off as a way to save some money but living in Vancouver is so expensive that I am not really saving money but just trying to stay afloat. Good thing I really love it.

Aaron’s daily pain earns him $500 from our partners at Jim Pattison Volkswagen Surrey.

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