The wife of the man who received serious back injuries in a crash outside Godfreys Launceston has called for greater driver awareness of motorcyclists.
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Cody Taylor was riding his motorcycle in the right-hand lane along Wellington Street on Thursday, April 11, before the crash with a car coming from the middle lane, Dorothy Taylor said.
"We're not really sure whether they were trying to merge into the right-hand lane, or whether this person wanted to turn down Frederick Street and completely skipped that lane," she said.
"By the time Cody saw [the car] it was too late to do anything.
"He said if he did brake he possibly would have gone under the car, but he ended up going over the bonnet and he hit a power pole and that's how he broke his back," she said.
Ms Taylor is grateful an off-duty paramedic stopped to help Mr Taylor because people were trying to move him.
"He kept saying no, don't move me. [The paramedic] told them not to move him. If they did move him, like they wanted to, he might be paralysed right now," she said.
"That's a concern if there's members of the public who are doing things like that when people have accidents."
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He had two operations on his legs at Launceston General Hospital in the days after the accident and was in the intensive care unit, but was then flown to Melbourne for back surgery this week.
"We're not sure when he's going to be able to sit up again. At the moment he can't feed himself or even drink himself," Mrs Taylor said.
The couple moved to Launceston from the North-West Coast in 2016 to study.
Mr Taylor had switched his degree to part-time and was due to finish this year.
"That's not going to happen now. He's a little bit disappointed because he really wanted to finish this year," Mrs Taylor said.
She is calling for more awareness at the computer testing stage and during driving lessons, but also for support to help young people obtain their car licence when they're on a low income.
Mrs Taylor, who used to ride a motorcycle but now drives a car, said motorists were not as aware of motorcyclists or bicyclists as they should be.
"Often they don't check their blind spots for motorbikes. I used to be a motorbike rider myself, until I got my car licence, so I know how easy it is for a car to almost hit you. That's also made me a little bit more aware when I'm driving," she said.
"With the motorbike course they teach you about road positioning, head checking and mirror checking to make sure that you are safe and in a position where you are the least vulnerable."
The couple were saving for Mr Taylor's driver licence fees, so he rode a motorcycle while they saved.
He has been riding a motorcycle for a few years.
"It's taken him a long time to even get to the stage where he can go for his L2s, which he did this year," Mrs Taylor said.
"When you're on a low income and you're living away from family, how are you supposed to pay the $50, $60 or even $70 an hour to get your 50 hours?
"If you're a jobseeker they will actually cover some of the costs for you to get your driving licence, but if you're a student we're not entitled to any of that."
Mrs Taylor said there were a number of questions about social factors that had resulted from this incident and she was using the opportunity to see what could be done.
"If he had been able to get the car licence I don't think he would have got the motorbike licence," she said.
"I feel like maybe the person didn't pay as much attention as they could and basically has ruined a young person's life.
"It's not going to be an easy process for him to recover."
Tasmania Police is investigating the crash.