Down a pinky, up a purpose: Brandon man works to make streets safer

Grant Hamilton spent his life not lifting a finger to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, until he couldn’t.

One year ago – nearly to the day – Hamilton and his wife rode their bikes home from a joint birthday party down one of Brandon, Man.’s dedicated bike lanes.

Just two blocks from home, a driver turned left without seeing the couple and plowed right into Hamilton.

“I went up and over and my pinky stayed behind,” he said.

Rushed to hospital and later flown to Winnipeg, Hamilton came away with an injured shoulder and knee, a broken nose, a gash in his face and a missing finger.

Now, one year and countless hours of rehabilitation later, the Brandon resident and lifelong cyclist no longer gripes about how the system that injured him was built, but instead thinks about how he can do his part in changing it.

“I spent a lot of time complaining about this very issue and now it’s affected me in a non-theoretical way,” he said.

When he lost his pinky, he gained perspective.

View image in full screen

Hamilton became motivated to be involved in changing the landscape of road infrastructure and improving safety in a more tangible way, rather than shaking his fists at the sky.

“I spent a lot of time … saying, ‘I wish they would fix that or I wish they would do something about this,’” he said.

“Our society isn’t perfect, our cities aren’t perfect, there’s lots of ways they can improve but there’s no magic ‘they’ to do it and I found it quite liberating to say, ‘Hey, I can speak up. I can make a difference.’”

And speak up, he did.

Hamilton, who works as director of marketing and communications at Brandon University, invited mayoral and council candidates on a bike tour ahead of the 2022 municipal election; was named to the city’s Vision Zero task force, which was formed to look at improving overall safety on roads; started a research project on active transportation in Brandon; and started a cycling advocacy group.

All before he could mark one year since the crash.

“I wanted to make a difference to save the next person,” he said.

MPI statistics show an average of 200 cyclists have been injured or killed annually over the last five years.

The Crown corporation’s 2021 annual report states cyclists accounted for three per cent of people killed and two per cent of people seriously injured in collisions reported that year.

Despite all his work, Hamilton has time for play, too.

The Brandonite constantly makes witty, at-his-own-expense jokes online about his missing digit, and even hosted a public barbecue near the site of the crash for his “pinky-versary.”

He handed out hot dogs, “because they’re shaped like fingers” — not to advocate or preach, but to celebrate that he’s still earthside.

Still an avid cyclist, Hamilton said he likely wouldn’t feel compelled to take action on issues he long bemoaned, but the scar that runs along his hand – and the pinky in question, which is allegedly stored in his freezer – reminds him of his goal.

“You might be surprised at how quickly you can make a really positive change.”

— with files from Global News’ Rosanna Hempel

0:25 New numbers show more cyclists on some Winnipeg roads