Bikes & helmets

10-05-2009, 00:05

I don't know the particulars of the crash, but in light of Kevin Nirschl's passing, God rest his soul, I want to tell a story.

In 2006-7 I lost 3 friends in motorcycle crashes. Two were direct contact with automobiles, one was run off the road and hit other objects. All three were wearing novelty helmets. All three died from head injuries. Whether or not they would have survived with helmets, I do not know, but it made me think hard about selling my bike and also about what I wear while riding.

On March 13th, 2008 I was headed to an SFA meeting at the GB club on my Harley. I was wearing full leathers, gloves, D.O.T. helmet...all the stuff you have to wear on post, all the stuff I always wore after my bros got hit.

I was rolling down Raeford Rd and came upon a school bus blocking part of the left lane, so I switched to the right lane. A car was coming from the right and it looked like he was going to run the stop sign, so my attention was on him as I approached the bus.

As I went around the bus *bam* I got hit from the left by a guy in an Oldsmobile who confessed that he was talking on a cell phone and not paying attention. I never saw him because of the bus and he never slowed down or looked. I was doing 55 when he hit me in front of a busload of kids.

I took the fenders, the bumper, grille and the hood off the car. I have no idea how far I was thrown, but it was pretty far. I clearly recall when I hit the pavement head-first, thinking, "Thank God I have on a good helmet."

As the bike and I were tumbling, skidding, bouncing down the shoulder of the road the bike landed on me twice, once across my ass (I think it was the rear tire) and once on my left shoulder (seat/tank). I am not sure of the distance, but I was hit at the intersection before Brownies/Uhaul and came to rest in the ditch in front of the shops. Even in full leathers I got a whole lot of nasty deep road rash on both shoulders, knees, and the left side of my face.

My left tibia and fibula were crushed and I broke every bone in my ankle/heel/foot. They tried to save it, but on March 18th they hacked it off 6" below the knee. I picked up some kind of bacteria from the soil and it almost did what the turd in the Oldsmobile failed to accomplish. It was iffy for a while.

It sucked and still sucks sometimes and I am not finished with surgeries on it yet, but if I had not been wearing my helmet I would 100% definitely not be here today.

The worst leg day is far better than the best dead day.

I know it is a hotly debated topic, but if you ride you should consider getting a good helmet. It saved my life. It might save yours. Getting killed by a car is no way for a warrior to go.

I am a tard and cannot get the picture upload thing to work for me, so...this is the helmet that saved my life:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...ashhelmet2.jpg

Be safe,
Randy

JJ_BPK · 10-05-2009, 04:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by rltipton

It sucked and still sucks sometimes and I am not finished with surgeries on it yet, but if I had not been wearing my helmet I would 100% definitely not be here today.

The worst leg day is far better than the best dead day.

I know it is a hotly debated topic, but if you ride you should consider getting a good helmet. It saved my life. It might save yours. Getting killed by a car is no way for a warrior to go.

Be safe,
Randy

Randy, best wishes on a complete recovery..

I stopped riding 30 yrs ago because of the A$$ Ho's driving around South Florida. Between the Yankee Touristas, Snow Birds, Centenarian Geriatrics, and our vibrant Latin Community,

Someone on a bike is nothing but a TARGET of OPPORTUNITY..

I had three accidents,, fortunately all minor, no hospital time, But they sure scared my 01. She put the stop on my rides.. Well,, I kinda did also. We had/have two great kids and I wanted to be around to see the G-kids.

When Florida changed and allowed the current "no helmet" law I was amazed,,

Amazed, until I read the news articles about WHY the Insurance Industry did not want to fight the change. Turned out to be a very simple reason and makes a lot of sense.

It's MONEY....

A person who becomes a paraplegic can cost 100,000 per year for life...

A funeral ia a one time cost,,, 5,000...

I still want to get another Bike,, but will wait until we are out of the target zone,, hopefully if we move North some it will be safer...

Ride Safe..

Stras · 10-05-2009, 06:15

Randy,

I'm thankful that you're still around to wake up in the morning.

I'm still waiting on the trip to the tattoo parlor.......

Lisa didn't quite know how to take all these "bikers" that showed up at your hospital room. Till she realized that we were all family.

As an MSF Rider Coach and long time rider, there are two types of riders. Those who have gone done, and those who will. Fayette-nam sucks for non-aware car drivers.

MSF courses are free to Active Duty and required for all DOD personnel regardless if they ride a motorcycle. It's a quick ticket to a "line of duty NO" on a 15-6 if you don't have one.

I used to ride with a skid lid, but it's hanging in the garage and relegated to a prop in my MSF Courses. especially telling when i drop it from waist height and pass it around the class.

**The Reaper** · 10-05-2009, 07:44

I used to wear a skid lid, now I still wear half-helmets, but they are all high end DOT approved. If I could find a half-helmet that was Snell approved as well, I would buy it. I am considering going to a Snell 3/4 helmet, if I keep losing friends.

Of course, I also used to ride a lot at night, in all weather, after partying, etc., and I do not do that any more either. Call me a fair weather rider, you are not going to hurt my feelings.

I also ride very defensively. I avoid riding near cars, allow lots of room, and cover the brakes if I in any way think someone is going to do something stupid.

If you want to see something scary, look at the number of HD dealership owners killed while riding the past few years.

Get well soon, hermano.

TR

69harley · 10-05-2009, 07:51

I wore worn a skid lid for almost 15 years. Not any more. My hearing in my right ear is almost gone. Doc said it will never improve, but I could try and hold on to what I have left. The wind and exhaust noise is muffled down to almost nothing with a full face helmet on. The problem I have with full face helmets is the snorkel effect. I have tried on almost every helmet and they all have some snorkel to them. I ride with a Gentex HG-55 flight helmet. No noise, and no snorkel. I spoke with a Gentex rep at a trade show about riding with a flight helmet on. The rep said that he did the same thing and the only reason why a flight helmet does not meet DOT standards is the bayonet mounts and the leather visor stops. DOT wants the outside of the helmet to be smooth. The Gentex rep said they would make a HG-55 smooth and put a DOT certification on it if I wanted to order one. Price was like $350 without comms.

Utah Bob · 10-05-2009, 07:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

Randy, best wishes on a complete recovery..

I stopped riding 30 yrs ago because of the A$$ Ho's driving around South Florida. Between the Yankee Touristas, Snow Birds, Centenarian Geriatrics, and our vibrant Latin Community,

Someone on a bike is nothing but a TARGET of OPPORTUNITY..

Yeah, I stopped riding when I lived in Miami in '77. Too many lunatics on the road, plus the Mem Sahib got pregnant.

Now I live in great riding country but I'm too old.
Or too smart.

10-05-2009, 09:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stras

Randy,

I'm thankful that you're still around to wake up in the morning.

I'm still waiting on the trip to the tattoo parlor.......

Lisa didn't quite know how to take all these "bikers" that showed up at your hospital room. Till she realized that we were all family.

As an MSF Rider Coach and long time rider, there are two types of riders. Those who have gone done, and those who will. Fayette-nam sucks for non-aware car drivers.

MSF courses are free to Active Duty and required for all DOD personnel regardless if they ride a motorcycle. It's a quick ticket to a "line of duty NO" on a 15-6 if you don't have one.

I used to ride with a skid lid, but it's hanging in the garage and relegated to a prop in my MSF Courses. especially telling when i drop it from waist height and pass it around the class.

You guys are the best and precisely why I value my friends so greatly. There were dozens of visitors every day. Stras was there more than anybody but my then fiancee, who never left.

Thank you brother, you epitomize the word "friend." Mi casa es tu casa siempre, hermano.

Do you want my crash helmet for a class prop bro?

I'm still thinking of getting another tattoo, but I don't think I'll go to Sachsenhausen and it damn sure won't be on a f***ing stretcher! haha Sorry about that.

Thanks for the well-wishes all. It's just a speed bump though, not to worry. My pace count is back to where it was before. I'm recovered.

Sdiver · 10-05-2009, 11:43

Randy,

First off, let me say how sorry I am to hear about your accident and of the results of that accident. But I'm glad to hear that you've made a great recovery. Must be that "Can Do !!! NEVER Quit !!!" Attitude you've pick up somewhere.

Yes, the "Helmet....No Helmet" issue is hotly debated. After picking up my bike last year, I put about 3000 miles on it, and I don't think I once wore a bucket. This year though, I most definitely wore one. Don't know about the traffic in your area or that of those in FL posted by the others, (I can only imagine though

) , but up/out here, it seems that drivers just aren't paying attention as they seemed to be last year. There's one intersection I come to everyday, as I'm riding to and from work, that I've told my buddies, "This is where I'm going to get nailed." It's just one of those feelings. Also the fact, that I've almost gotten nailed there a few times.

Being an EMT on an ambulance, I've rolled up on quit a few bike wrecks, and it does seem to be more so this year as last. Yes, it seems there are more riders out there this year as there were last, and quit a few were those on those little Mo-peds that are popping up like crazy. Some riders had buckets on, other didn't. It's about 50-50 on both those that who were wearing and those that weren't, that made it. You, as well as every other rider out there knows, we don't have that much protection while in a wreck. Sure, you could be wearing full leathers and a bucket, like you were, and still end up eating your meals through a feeding tube.

As far as the debate goes "Helmet....No Helmet".....all I can say is, Ride Safe. If you choose to ride without a bucket on, then, that's your choice. As has been said before, "There are 2 types of riders out there. Those who have been down, and those that are going down."

**Razor** · 10-05-2009, 13:10

Not to gear down the conversation (pun intended), but the same goes for the pedal variety bikes. I'm alive today because I wore a helmet riding a bicycle, per post regulations, over a decade ago. If not for the reg, I might have foregone wearing the helmet, as I had planned a short, easy ride. Like rltipton said, the worst day I have now is far better than the best dead day I would have had; I'm kinda partial to watching my kids grow up.

pjody187 · 10-05-2009, 13:59

"There are 2 types of riders out there. Those who have been down, and those that are going down."

Ive had my Harley for about a month now and went down for the first time this past Saturday. Luckily I was not going to fast, the road was deserted, and I had a full face helmet and a heavy duty leather jacket on. I had no gloves on so my palms aren't looking to good right now and I bent my handle bars.

Left turns are really easy now though

Costa · 10-05-2009, 20:00

I usually wear my HJC Carbon fiber full face helmet when riding.
Glad to see your carbon fiber saved your life.

Florida actually just started requiring the motorcycle endorsement to purchase a bike not too long ago. Surprised it took this long, but thankful that it's required now. Still a lot of guys out there that don't ride with safety in mind (guys with chrome on their street bikes and stretched swing-arms, you know they type) but hopefully this will stop most of the future dumb-asses to be. Yesterday I pulled up on the second accident in a week, and this one happened to be a motorcycle crash. Thank God it wasn't a collision and was just a low-side fall, and thank God he was wearing jeans, a riding jacket, and a full face helmet.

Be safe out there guys, most of the time it isn't you -- but accidents can still happen. If you ride, you already know this.

10-05-2009, 22:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjody187

"There are 2 types of riders out there. Those who have been down, and those that are going down."

and the third type, those who quit before they go down.

QRQ 30 · 10-06-2009, 10:02

I used to ride for recreation. Later I only had a bike a d rode it over 200 miles a day to work in Greenville, SC from Lincolnton, NC. Rfiding daily on the Interstate made a disbeliver in me. So many things happened unexpectedly such as tire treads flying off of trucks and once a dolly falling out of a truck in front of me. I'm so screwed up now I couldn't ride if I wanted to.

A couple of weeks I was coming home from Asheville. It was real dark and as I came over the crest of a hill there were three bikers stopped right at the edge of the road. It was the SC/NC line and these idjits couldn't wait to take their helmets off.