“Heard a deer,” he said.”Kinda appeared out of nowhere [and there] wasn’t really time to stop.”
Last month, he hit a deer while riding his motorcycle.
“I had a couple broken bones,” said Strange.
But he knows things could have been a lot worse without his helmet.
*****
I was in a bike wreck when I was 14 and wasn't wearing a helmet. Among my other injuries, I had a fractured skull. I figured I just used up my last chance, so I wore a helmet religiously until I quit riding bikes at 22.
Granted, I lived in places where helmets were required, but even if they weren't I would've worn one anyway, and that would've been my choice.
Choice being the key word here.
What I find curious about helmet laws though are the people's reaction to them. You'll have somebody that screams about government interference in our daily lives, yet that same guy will scream just as loud about the need for helmet laws.
last time I was on a bike was in 1976. after working in the ER of many a hospital. I pass on it.
ReplyDeletejust seen way too many basket cases come in thru the doors from bikes.
there was a ortho doc at HUP who lined his waiting room with bike helmets of all the patients he worked on. it was a lot of them there.
I wear a helmet 99.9% of the time and Kommiecticut does not have a helmet law for adults, just kids under 18 and learners permit holders. The .1% of the time I don't wear mine is in large parking areas moving from one store to another, or road testing my bike near home. As a FF/EMT, I know all a helmet really does is allow for an open casket funeral service or to live like Stephen Hawking IF you survive.
ReplyDeleteMy melon is too big, can't find a Helmut that doesn't give me an excruciating headache. Still riding at plus 70
ReplyDeleteGet a roll of Duct tape. & 2 by 1s cut to size and make a custom noggin protector.
DeleteI t-boned a deer at 60 just after leaving work at the hospital at 6 am.
ReplyDeleteHelmet, heavy leather jacket, backpack, light gloves, slacks and heavy shoes were worn, if I had chaps on I would have been fine, but I consider a knee grated to the bone getting off easy.
How? I learned from all the uninjured drunks that wreck and roll, I went limp as a rag doll at the moment of impact.
Never riding in an ambulance while conscious again, the half insurance disn't pay for the mile ride in was $850 in 2009.
Many years ago, one of my cousins, who had a bike and a temper, got on his bike after a nasty fight with his wife. He tore up the road at high speed, missed a turn and winged a tree. Took the side of his helmet off. Aside from a broken arm and scared to death, he was otherwise ok. Funny thing is, even as upset as he was, he took that 20 seconds to put his helmet on before he took off and it saved his life. It could have been the side of his head missing.
ReplyDeleteThat incident also changed him. He settled his temper down and took things a lot easier after that. He and his wife just had their 43rd anniversary.
I wear a helmet religiously when anywhere near four wheelers. In the desert, just tooling around, it depends on the weather. To agree with Dropem - helmets allow them to match your face to your driver's license. I'm 70, and going strong.
ReplyDeleteThe only logical excuse for not wearing a brain bucket is not having anything to put in it.
ReplyDeleteThe only helmet law that makes sense to me is if you are not wearing a helmet in a MC crash and you suffer a TBI, no heroic, expensive actions will be taken to save you unless you can pay out-of-pocket for them. The rest of the taxpayers, insurance policyholders, etc., should not have to shoulder the financial burden of your 'rights'. But, no, you should not be forced to wear one - the same for seatbelts.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Also, you waive all rights to long-term disability payments from the State, for any injuries suffered. If you ride without a helmet, get yourself some platinum insurance, because the taxpayers really should not have to pay for your personal preferences.
DeleteEver wonder how many riders might've been paralyzed due to someone yanking an unconscious rider's helmet off at a crash scene?
ReplyDeleteIf you're unconscious with a helmet, you'd have been dead without it.
DeleteOne of my best friends was killed after a deer collision in 2019, wife not sure who hit who. Probably doing 55 or 60, I know the road he was on. Helmet? He lived for about 2 days.
ReplyDeleteI have seen many deer hit cars during my days in WV and KY. In a car, usually not fatal for you. On a motorcycle, it's a different story. Heard of a lady in Eastern KY that was killed by a deer that was hit on THE OTHER SIDE OF A DIVIDED 4-LANE HIGHWAY, and flew through her windshield.
Markie
Why ride a motorcycle when you can drive a convertable. You can see everything you would see on a bike and have heat and air conditioning to boot.
ReplyDeleteWhile kind of unrelated, being 70+ years old I wear a helmet when bicycling now. Reflexes are not what they used to be. Living in an area with a lot of retirees, there have been a number of deaths from the head bump when falling off the bike. Now the electric bikes are all the rage, and they can go pretty quick; I know several people that have fallen with pretty significant injuries.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty much opposed to all "For your own good laws." But as long as I can be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt while having 5000 pounds of steel ( curb weight on my truck is 4800-5100 pounds) wrapped around me, make the bikers wear helmets. Equal protection (government meddling) of the law and such.
ReplyDeleteI wear my helmet about 80% of the time - it drives my husband nuts but I figure when your number’s up etc. That said, there are stickers out there, found this on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/142085175721
ReplyDeleteUsed to be able to purchase warning stickers for about a buck.
I wear a helmet every ride. I don't care what anyone else does. That's none of my business. I hate laws requiring helmets. If someone doesn't want to wear a helmet that's none of anyone's business. I don't wear a helmet on my ATV. I do wear a helmet while felling trees.
ReplyDeleteI've come to accept that human beings are hopelessly hard wired with a weakness. They're driven to force other humans to make the same choices they would. It takes strength of character to let others be like you are not. Few people can do that. Most won't trust their own choices until a herd of other humans (whether through fashion or force) are doing the same thing. That's why people who don't own motorcycles have opinions about helmets. It's why everyone turned on each other over COVID. It's why Karens and annoying HOAs exist.
Recently, I dropped a wad of cash on an Aerostich motorcycle suit. It doesn't look as cool as leather but compared to my old (seemingly adequate) gear it's a fortress! I hope to never test it but it only has to work once. If I were a wiser man I would have bought an Aerostich on day one. If you spend a mint on an Aerostich and a pittance on a bike you may have made a very intelligent decision. (Note: If you go to the Aerostich "factory" they've got a wall of torn up suits from various crashes. It's instructive to see what works and what doesn't.)
"Well Ol' Charles there was killed outright but Miss Baby here was alright until me and Junior turned her head around." RIP Brother Dave.
ReplyDeleteDad did volunteer work at a hospital for a while after Mom passed. Down in the ER talking to a Doc was told, "You know what doctors call motorcycle riders without helmets? ... Organ donors." Granted they only see accident victims but that still says a lot for those.
ReplyDeleteSteve S6
This! A friend who was a kidney transplant recipient - twice - was very much against mandatory helmet laws "because that's where most kidneys come from."
DeleteHere they are called 'donorcycles' because the riders supply organs for other people.
DeleteI had my first serious scooter crash in the mountains of NC after leaving a bar. I ran off the road and sailed down a ditch. Which is good because the other side was a very steep mountain side. As I fell back my helmet caught in the bike's (custom '66 HD) sissy bar.
ReplyDeleteCausing me to get a pretty bad concussion. If I hadn't been wearing the lid I would have only got some minor bruising. I don't ride as much as I use to, but I still wear a lid when I do.
I was an MP on Ft Riley. One day a guy comes off the interstate, right past the helmet required sign with his brain bucket strapped behind him. I pulled him over, told him why and took his DL for the required check. He was pretty pissed, he'd stopped because he saw the sign for the buffalo corral on base. When I went back to return his DL I also gave him a base map, showed him where the corral was then pointed out the various museums on post. At that, he was glad I'd stopped him.
ReplyDeleteI've seen too many people who got their brains scrambled. I advocate for choice, but opine that you are foolish to not wear a helmet.
no helmet laws in NH...no seat belt laws either...
ReplyDeletemy friend brittany got T-boned by a woman who ran a stop sign because she "forgot my phone". broke her leg in 3 places. she's only now walking without a limp and it's 2 years later.
the settlement was enough for her and her husband to get their gun shop off the ground...sooo there's that LOL
I go with choice. Back in the seventies when Va brought helmets into law therapists in one of the largest Rehab Centers in America said they were getting a lot of broken necks. The extra weight of the helmet was more then the neck could stand. Also if the brain was damaged in a wreck the helmet kept the brain from swelling the way it's supposed to. I don't know of any specific study but these folks were licensed therapists and they felt they were seeing more para and quads as a direct result from the helmets. ER sure see some fucked up people. Rehab see those for months and years that live.
ReplyDeleteThere is NO SUCH THING as a “brain swelling the way it’s supposed to”. Uh uh, nope!
DeleteYour brain is in a closed bone case. The only way a brain swells is the bad way.
As a paramedic I’ve dealt with plenty of motorcycle accidents. Wearing a helmet improves a person’s chances of living through it. Not having a helmet makes those chances slim. Shoveled too may human brains off the asphalt to be quiet about it.
ReplyDeleteI have a slightly different view of helmet laws living in Canada. If your getting free govt health at the hospital then you should be wearing a helmet, why should i pay for your stupidity?
ReplyDeleteIf your in the US and you dont wear a helmet that is between you and your insurance company.
Exile1981
All it took to finally get me to wear one - after my last wreck - was the look on my Sweetie's face as I saw her through the hospital window, on her way in to see what she thought was her ol' man's corpse. She had heard, incorrectly, that I was badly thrashed and on my way through the Veil. She's always had my back, through thick, thin, and my run as a patch holder, figured that I owe her that. I still ride.
ReplyDeleteChoice is a important but head injuries cost society millions of dollars. Money that eventually comes from everyone. If helmets are optional than the law should make it so only the person injured foots the bill for care. No money...no care. Same with seatbelt laws. If you die in an accident the costs are usually limited. Serious injury with lifelong sequela cost society.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I want to see a legit study of the effectiveness of various helmet styles and how they change injuries. I remember a few studies that suggested an uptick in severe back/neck injuries that would have been minor if not for the large helmets, but they were buried quickly in the "reeeee, helmets save lives" backlash and I never heard any follow up on that for better pro's/con's on helmet types
ReplyDelete