Former Austin Mayor Suffers Bicycle Accident

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Cyclist suffers serious injuries in accident. His helmet is likely responsible for saving his life.

According to the Austin American Statesman, former Mayor Bruce Todd was severely injured in a cycling accident. Todd, 55, was participating in an Austin Cycling Association recreational ride when he fell face-first to the pavement, suffered a head injury and multiple broken bones in the 2:45 p.m. accident on U.S. 183.

Back in 1996, then-Austin Mayor Bruce Todd and a council majority faced down a chamberful of cyclists and voted to require all Austin cyclists to wear helmets while riding. Todd called it "a common sense thing to do." Sunday, on a windy Caldwell County road, that piece of hard plastic may have saved Todd's life. "The emergency room physician told me that if Bruce hadn't been wearing that helmet, I'd be planning a funeral today," Christian said Monday. "He is very serious, but stable. As it turned out, that bicycle helmet law Todd co-sponsored was amended about four months after he left office in June 1997. Under that change, only cyclists 17 or younger are required to wear helmets while riding in Austin.