Michael Forbes would not wish being a quadriplegic on his worst enemy.
He uses a wheelchair to get around, after a cycling crash in 2008.
He was riding at about 35 kilometres per hour on Beach Road, a busy cycling thoroughfare in Melbourne's south, when he was hit by a passing truck, causing him to topple into a nearby parked car.
It broke his spine, and changed his life forever.
The international triathlon competitor was five minutes away from arriving home when he was struck.
Nine years later, he is thankful for what he has in life.
He said he was "giving [life] a good crack … and keeping a smile on my face".
A major new study suggests that in Victoria, cyclist safety is getting worse.
The research, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, found cyclists were the only road users to record an increase in the number of serious injuries.
The number of major injuries increased 8 per cent per year between 2007 and 2015.
"Those numbers are out of control," said Dr Ben Beck, lead researcher from Monash University.
"We really need to ensure that we target our efforts not only to fatal crashes but also to serious-injury crashes."
The paper also estimated the costs of death and disability caused by cycling incidents at $14 billion over nine years in Victoria.
Dr Beck said Victoria had introduced successful strategies to improve road safety overall, but cyclists were being left behind.
'Bigger is better' doesn't work
The total number of deaths on Victorian roads has fallen by 4 per cent per year and the number of major injuries has remained steady.
For cyclists, the number of deaths did not change significantly over the nine years, but the number of major injuries rose 8 per cent per year.
Another disturbing trend for cyclists was a 56 per cent increase in "disability-affected life-years".
If nothing changes, road safety targets are unlikely to be met, the researchers say.
Mr Forbes said he believes most road users — motorist or cyclist — simply do not understand the danger.
"In Australia, we've got a really bad attitude, 'bigger is better' on the roads," he said.
"'Bigger is better' doesn't work."
