I felt strong enough to write a paper on this topic for school, so here it is...
I Save Your Noodle
How can a thin piece of foam and plastic save your life? I find it hard to believe that certain people choose not to where motorcycle helmets in this world. I have been around long enough to understand what safety means. Anything that will help me survive better in a traumatic event, is something I would willingly accept. No force in the human body can prevent their head from hitting an object at even 15mph. Why not have some extra protection that would help deal with the impact?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, In 1993, helmet use in the states with all-rider helmet laws resulted in 515 lives saved, 2,035 moderate to serious injuries prevented and more than $513 million saved. Another 225 lives could have been saved if the other 25 states had all-rider helmet laws. Helmet laws also reduce serious injury, particularly costly head injuries, the leading cause of death for motorcyclists. A single head-injured motorcyclist can cost a state more than $2 million over a lifetime. Sometimes you have to experience a head trauma to respect what helmets protect.
Sliding towards a curb at 70mph at eye level, tends to make me appreciate the law that forced me to wear a helmet. My family and I looked at my damaged helmet in horror. Deep gouges and scratches, tattoo my empty shell of protection. My full face shield, looked like someone ground my face into a sharpening stone. I try not to think of what my face would have looked like with out a securely fit helmet.
Recently, I spent some time in a local hospital. My friend clipped a guard rail with his handle bars while riding. On the day of his accident, he asked me if I could load his broken bike up for him at the scene of the accident. There were marks on the ground where his body had slid 50 yards. The bike was sliding next to him into the cliff. Both the bike and my friend took a 20 foot drop into a ravine. I could not believe he had survived such a violent accident with only a broken arm and sprained ankle. After taking a long look at his badly damaged helmet, I can not imagine if he had not worn one. For sure, his face would have been scared for life. A chunk of fiber glass was ripped from his helmet; how would a bare scull deal with that sort of abuse?
After reading an article that describes full face helmets as giving riders a false sense of invulnerability, I had to laugh. My helmet cost over 550 dollars. My helmet is too expensive to take chances with. I am not going to take excessive risks and partake in dangerous riding habits because my face and head are covered. It hurts when you fall. With or with out a helmet, common sense will go a long way to determine that helmets can only help if fitted the correct way.
The helmet is designed to absorb shock by partial destruction of the shell and liner. Is the scull designed to take mass amounts of abuse? If my skull has a choice, I would want what little protection that is provided. My owners instructions clearly states that no helmet can protect the wearer against all possible impact. Not warranty or representation is made as to this products ability to protect the user from any injury or death, the user assumes all risks. The consumer information about the product is blunt and to the point. No one is guaranteeing that you will live a longer life with a helmet. Many believe that helmets impair your vision and sound. I have been hit in the face with a bug before. I did not care for that stinging sensation of a bumble bee. A full face shield sure does a nice job of avoiding unwanted insects. It feels nice to have something covering your ears. The sound of whistling wind at free way speed can injure your hearing, in the long run. If you had no helmet, it would be a loud painful ride.
Some people should experience a high impact with a stationary object, to rethink their opinion about helmet safety. I swear by helmets and have seen their magic. The topic of having to wear a helmet is something I will never have trouble understanding. I hope to convince a few riders that think a good bit of hair spray protecting their brain from an impact with the ground is a bad thing. Aside from getting helmet hair, helmets are designed to benefit the rider, not hinder them. I retain my original face structure, thanks to an invention called the helmet. The important fact to remember is that you have a choice to take the protection and use it. If you do not want to be injured in a motorcycle wreck, then do not ride motorcycles.
I Save Your Noodle
How can a thin piece of foam and plastic save your life? I find it hard to believe that certain people choose not to where motorcycle helmets in this world. I have been around long enough to understand what safety means. Anything that will help me survive better in a traumatic event, is something I would willingly accept. No force in the human body can prevent their head from hitting an object at even 15mph. Why not have some extra protection that would help deal with the impact?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, In 1993, helmet use in the states with all-rider helmet laws resulted in 515 lives saved, 2,035 moderate to serious injuries prevented and more than $513 million saved. Another 225 lives could have been saved if the other 25 states had all-rider helmet laws. Helmet laws also reduce serious injury, particularly costly head injuries, the leading cause of death for motorcyclists. A single head-injured motorcyclist can cost a state more than $2 million over a lifetime. Sometimes you have to experience a head trauma to respect what helmets protect.
Sliding towards a curb at 70mph at eye level, tends to make me appreciate the law that forced me to wear a helmet. My family and I looked at my damaged helmet in horror. Deep gouges and scratches, tattoo my empty shell of protection. My full face shield, looked like someone ground my face into a sharpening stone. I try not to think of what my face would have looked like with out a securely fit helmet.
Recently, I spent some time in a local hospital. My friend clipped a guard rail with his handle bars while riding. On the day of his accident, he asked me if I could load his broken bike up for him at the scene of the accident. There were marks on the ground where his body had slid 50 yards. The bike was sliding next to him into the cliff. Both the bike and my friend took a 20 foot drop into a ravine. I could not believe he had survived such a violent accident with only a broken arm and sprained ankle. After taking a long look at his badly damaged helmet, I can not imagine if he had not worn one. For sure, his face would have been scared for life. A chunk of fiber glass was ripped from his helmet; how would a bare scull deal with that sort of abuse?
After reading an article that describes full face helmets as giving riders a false sense of invulnerability, I had to laugh. My helmet cost over 550 dollars. My helmet is too expensive to take chances with. I am not going to take excessive risks and partake in dangerous riding habits because my face and head are covered. It hurts when you fall. With or with out a helmet, common sense will go a long way to determine that helmets can only help if fitted the correct way.
The helmet is designed to absorb shock by partial destruction of the shell and liner. Is the scull designed to take mass amounts of abuse? If my skull has a choice, I would want what little protection that is provided. My owners instructions clearly states that no helmet can protect the wearer against all possible impact. Not warranty or representation is made as to this products ability to protect the user from any injury or death, the user assumes all risks. The consumer information about the product is blunt and to the point. No one is guaranteeing that you will live a longer life with a helmet. Many believe that helmets impair your vision and sound. I have been hit in the face with a bug before. I did not care for that stinging sensation of a bumble bee. A full face shield sure does a nice job of avoiding unwanted insects. It feels nice to have something covering your ears. The sound of whistling wind at free way speed can injure your hearing, in the long run. If you had no helmet, it would be a loud painful ride.
Some people should experience a high impact with a stationary object, to rethink their opinion about helmet safety. I swear by helmets and have seen their magic. The topic of having to wear a helmet is something I will never have trouble understanding. I hope to convince a few riders that think a good bit of hair spray protecting their brain from an impact with the ground is a bad thing. Aside from getting helmet hair, helmets are designed to benefit the rider, not hinder them. I retain my original face structure, thanks to an invention called the helmet. The important fact to remember is that you have a choice to take the protection and use it. If you do not want to be injured in a motorcycle wreck, then do not ride motorcycles.
