A Cyclist’s Call for Safer Roads After Surviving the Unthinkable
After surviving two devastating road accidents, Nicette Millar is rebuilding her life step by step while urging all road users to take greater responsibility behind the wheel. Cape Town,... The post A Cyclist’s Call for Safer Roads After Surviving the Unthinkable appeared first on Good Things Guy.
Black News 
After surviving two devastating road accidents, Nicette Millar is rebuilding her life step by step while urging all road users to take greater responsibility behind the wheel.
Cape Town, South Africa (08 April 2026) – What should have been an ordinary ride turned into a life-altering moment for Nicette Millar. And one she does not entirely remember, but changed everything.
“I just remember thinking, ‘I’m dead,’” she recalls of her first accident. “The doctors still can’t explain how I survived.”
The impact left her with severe brain swelling, requiring an induced coma. When she woke up, the life she once knew had been stripped away. She had to relearn how to walk, speak, and eat. Even her memory was fragmented.
“I lost my independence. I lost who I was.”
If that journey was not enough, Nicette was hit again, but this time by a driver who accelerated through a red robot.
“That one was worse in a different way,” she explains. “I saw it happen. I felt everything.”
The second accident left her bedridden for 90 days, with multiple fractures and lasting trauma. Beyond the physical injuries, the emotional toll has been profound.
“I still can’t handle sirens. I can’t handle cars speeding past me or people ignoring the rules of the road. It breaks me, because I know how quickly a life can change.”
Her recovery has not only been medical, but deeply personal. As a single mother, the accidents affected every part of her life. Despite this, Nicette refused to accept the limitations placed on her.
“Doctors told me what I would never be able to do. But they don’t know what you’re capable of. You have to believe in yourself.”
Her recovery became a daily act of determination. Relearning speech by repeating sentences from the television, rebuilding cognitive skills through simple exercises, and pushing herself to regain independence.
“It’s only in the last few months that I’ve been able to speak in full sentences again.”
Now, years later, she is using her voice to highlight what she believes is a growing crisis on South African roads. She emphasises that accountability must come from all road users. Both drivers and cyclists alike.
“We all share the road. We all have a responsibility.”
Looking back on her journey, it is her resilience that stands out most, even to herself.
“You have to push through the worst to see the sunrise again. You survived for a reason.”
She adds that her own case with the Road Accident Fund has involved multiple specialist assessments over six years, and could still take years to reach court.
“Imagine if the system was faster and I had the medical treatment I needed sooner.”
For those facing their own recovery, her message is simple.
“Believe in yourself. Keep going. You’re capable of more than you think. Don’t let anyone determine your destiny, you are the sole person responsible for making the choice to be a survivor or a victim. Believe in you! You have more in you than you think. No one is coming to save you, you have to do it yourself. All of it. You determine your own future.”
And for everyone else, her plea is just as urgent. A single decision on the road can change a life forever.
Sources: GTG Interview
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The post A Cyclist’s Call for Safer Roads After Surviving the Unthinkable appeared first on Good Things Guy.
