Talk about helmets
always incites vehement disagreement between folks that
believe in their value and those that don't. My opinion? I
haven't heard any arguments from the no-helmet crowd that
make any sense, and my personal experience tells me differently.
At about age 16, I was
thrown off a motorcycle at 45 mph and, after an absolutely
graceful, parabolic trajectory, I landed on my head.
I had a good helmet on and I was able to limp away (gashed
leg, and I had back pain for ten years).
"Uncle
Bob" Schaller dressed to ride (and live to tell
about it) |
My father was broadsided
at an intersection in Bakersfield, CA back about 1973. He
was thrown from his motorcycle, about fifty feet or so, and
landed on his head. His helmet (a Bell Shorty) saved
his life, but he got a concussion that laid him up for a few
weeks.
An acquaintance of mine,
"Eric", was sitting in his driveway, on his
shiny new Harley, polishing the gas tank. He lost his balance,
fell over, and hit his head on the cement driveway (no helmet,
as he wasn't going anywhere). He died 3 or 4 days later. You
can suffer fatal head injuries in an impact as low as 4 mph.
A helmet is not a cure-all—no
safety device is. I know that in any collision with a four-wheeler,
I on my motorcycle am going to be the loser. What would be
a "fender bender" for an auto is often death for
a biker. We can easily lose a leg, have our organs destroyed,
and/or suffer paralysis. We slide across asphalt grinding
rocks, glass and who-knows-what-else into our flesh, all of
which must then be scraped out by a big strong medical professional
who uses sharp pointy objects and no anesthesia to dull the
pain.
Since I love to ride, and cannot
quit, I have a responsibility to protect myself as
much as possible—I wear a good helmet (with both Federal
Department of Transportation and Snell Foundation certification),
eye protection, protective clothing, and good boots. Knowing
what I know, not doing this just doesn't make sense.
Keep it between the fence-posts!
<Rule
#7: Buy & Use Safety Devices
Rule #9: Don't Run
Red Lights!>
