Motorbike crash victim 'hoped to die' after being paralysed
Melanie Davies was left soaked in petrol and paralysed from the chest down after being thrown from her boyfriend's motorbike when it hit sand on a sharp bend at 80mph.
By Zara MorganBBC News The 15-year-old's mother had begged her not to go out on the bike that day, but she went ahead, and later her life changed forever. Her spine had been crushed, she was in hospital for six months and her outlook left her feeling suicidal. Despite being told she would not reach 30 years old, she is now 54 and a campaigner on motorcycle safety. "I don't want anyone to end up like me - I went through times where I didn't want to live," said Mrs Davies, from Port Talbot, but now lives in Pontardawe. "I just felt like my life was over and I hoped I would die in my sleep. I couldn't imagine being able to do anything." The accident happened near Aberavon beach on Saturday, 10 May 1980, and she recalled how in the morning, her mother was "really agitated" and anxious about her going on the bike. But she said: "I told her it would be all right, and then it happened. "My parents were absolutely mortified, but they were amazing and supported me through it all. My mother said to me 'We will get over this together'." Mrs Davies has long back campaigns aimed at reducing motorcycle casualties and deaths, and set up a charity in 2011 to raise awareness which is backed by Michael Sheen. Motorbike casualties account for 41% of those killed or seriously injured on the roads, according to Stats Wales figures in 2016. The data showed that the majority of motorcyclist casualties on Welsh roads happen in good weather. Over the coming months, the Wales-wide police scheme Operation Darwen will encourage riders to improve their biking skills by taking part in BikeSafe workshops to reduce motorcycle deaths. PS Lee Stachow said: "Operation Darwen is not about spoiling people's fun but about encouraging riders to be safe and competent. "We will also be increasing patrols around motorcycle hotspots throughout Operation Darwen and we will take action against the small minority of bikers who ride in an anti-social manner." Mrs Davies, who went on to marry the doctor who treated her, said she still sees many young men who "lose all sense of speed" riding motorcycles on the road, as soon as the sun comes out. She added: "It is only when people see the effects of what a motorcycle accident can do to someone, that they listen. "When you lose an arm or leg, as people often do in motorcycle accidents; they don't grow back and you don't get better." Her now ex-boyfriend, who was 19 at the time, was not seriously injured and received a 12 month driving ban following the crash. Mrs Davies said her best friend Juli, who was riding behind them on the back of another motorbike and witnessed the accident, was "terribly impacted" by it. "The one thing I'm glad for, is that it happened to me and didn't happen to her. It was her first time on the back of a bike that day," she added.