A father of five left a motorcyclist with a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain after pulling out of a junction in an "act of stupidity".
Kevin Whitfield, 42, was driving a Volkswagen on Romsey Road, Southampton, when he took a wrong turn, hitting a motorcycle.
Southampton Magistrates' Court heard how the rider was left with a bleed on the brain, a fractured skull and fractured vertebrae during the incident on May 19 last year.
He was hospitalised for two days before making a recovery, though the prosecutor, Muneyah Hassan, said he has "zero memory" of the crash.
The court heard how Whitfield had ignored a traffic sign which meant he was only allowed to turn left at the junction.
Instead, he drove straight on before crashing into the motorcycle that he had failed to see.
Whitfield, a father of five from Barons Mead, Southampton pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving.
Speaking at his sentencing hearing, defence lawyer Jessica Murphy said it had been an "act of stupidity".
She said: "[This is] not something he did routinely but he was aware that others did do that at that junction.
"He fully accepts the offending. He is embarrassed and he is extremely remorseful.
"He has not tried to blame anybody else. He has from the moment of this collision faced this head-on.
"His employer he has disclosed this with at length. Since his interim disqualification, he has bought a bicycle and he is cycling to and from work."
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The driver had a clean driving licence before the incident and was evaluated as being at low risk of reoffending.
His barrister added that normally at junctions such as this, you would be able to go straight on and that the incident was caused by him not seeing the bike, rather than ignoring the sign.
But magistrate Chris Giles said Whitfield caused "some very serious injuries" adding that he had "knowingly" contravened the regulations.
He was banned from driving for 12 months and received a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.
He must also pay £85 court costs and a £114 surcharge.
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