PSA on Helmets

[Tucker301]

Many of you have followed this story over the past few weeks, but I thought I'd put it all together here for a broader audience and a bit of a PSA.

Matthew, Christine, and their children are family friends.
Matthew is a State Trooper.

A couple of weeks back Matthew took advantage of nice weather and a day off and took his Harley out for a leisurely ride.

A few miles from the house he entered a curve and hit loose gravel where the state had been doing some repairs of potholes. There were no warning signs posted and he had no time to react. He admits he stayed with it longer than he should have in hindsight, but he tried to regain control and save the heavy cruiser.

When he woke up he was in extreme pain all over his upper body and surrounded by EMT's yelling to him and to each other.
He was airlifted to one of this nation's top trauma centers at MVC/VCU.

Matthew had two minor brain bleeds, a shattered and dislocated humerus, multiple fractured vertebrae and a broken rib. There were some irregularities with his heartbeat as well.
A week on his back and after an extensive surgery on his arm and shoulder, he was fitted with a back brace and transported home.
He will still be out of work for a few months and there are some long hard days and nights ahead of him, but he's alive in no small part due to that helmet you see below.
He's a good and careful rider. He wasn't being reckless. He wasn't speeding.
He wasn't expecting any of this, but he was dressed properly and he had on the one thing that saved his life.
His children still have their father and his wife still has her husband.
Shit happens. Wear a helmet.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I wonder if it would have made any difference with one of those crazy new helmets that has that "Skin" system on it where it mimics the skin/skull interaction and lets the outside rotate a bit separate from primary shell so as to impart less rotational force during a crash?

 

[Spblademaker]

Damn. His helmet looked a little worse than mine, when I got hit. I feel super lucky now.

 

[Precisiondada]

Sounds familiar. Dropped a sportbike in 07’ at 80mph. Broke both hips, both shoulders (clavicle & scapula), completely severed my left hamstring from my pelvis, broken ribs, broken coxxyx, emergency ostomy, lost 11 pints of blood my first week. Coma for two weeks, hospital for another 16 weeks, had to relearn how to walk again.

Helmet saved my life, by all accounts I shouldn’t be here, they sent a priest to the MRI room when I got there for last rites. Fast forward 12 years and other then the scars I’m fully healed, able to walk/run and play with my son. Wear your helmets people!!

 

[Maggot]

Gotta watch that loose gravel, thats how I dropped mine. Tore the forks off. Luckily I walked away w/o a scratch but the helmet likely saved my life cause the head hit hard.

Looked around at all my friends who rode and all of them had serious injuries. I decided then and there that I was too young and reckless to ride a scooter so I sold it wrecked and have only been on one once since. I like something between myself and the road.

 

[XLR308]

Glad to hear he will make a full recovery, and he is still pretty damn lucky even with the helmet on.

 

[EddieNFL]

Invest as much in a helmet as you believe your head is worth.

 

[Srgt. Hulka]

I laid my bike down back in the early 80s. My helmet didn't look near that bad, but I'm still glad it was my helmet and not my head bouncing off the pavement.

 

[knuckleballz]

A top of the line helmet is THE BEST life insurance a rider can buy. I road raced for many years and saw myself and others walk away from some horrific crashes because of the protection of a good helmet and leathers.

 

[Spdy]

Hoping Matthew has a full and quick recovery. I know people dis them but motorcycle helmets do save lives. I might save on some riding gear but always bought the best helmet I could find.

 

[Maser]

Glad the guy made it out alive, but helmet or not, street bikes in general are fucking deathtraps! Doesn't matter how great of a rider you are, things can go to shit within a nanosecond!

 

[powdahound76]

Almost 20 years of this in one way or another and couldn't say it better. Helmets are a darn good idea.

Momma and I discussed ski helmets a couple weeks ago. Told her how much mine cost. She was surprised. $300 doesnt seem that bad to me.
This brain makes the money. Best keep it healthy if possible.

I also dont charge quite the same as I used to. Keep away from 30’ cliff drops and going straight down big steep slopes.

Heal fast Trooper.
I really like that pic of him on the swing next to his boy. Top stuff.

 

[Alabusa]

ATGATT

 

[schmi015]

Please wear a Helmet, my former 1SG was riding with his wife, neither were wearing helmets. She died on impact, he died at the hospital.

I wish the Trooper a quick recovery.

 

[powdahound76]

Seen it so so many times. Sad stuff.
Have seen a lot of families have to choose to donate or not. Just make the call for them. Sign up.

I have 2 brothers.
Both ride.
One always in leathers with internal padding and “skid plates” for sliding and full cut high end helmet.

Other just rides. Rarely a helmet. Leathers sometimes.

Sigh.

 

[bikeracer]

Glad Matthew is ok. I’m ATGATT too - I even wear a sternum protector along with fully armored jacket and pants. I’ve also gotten to the point where I mostly ride early mornings on the weekends.

 

[1J04]

Thank you for the update @Tucker301 . Great news and as soon as some of us are done screwing around with a project, we'll be sending you a nice little chunk to help support the Family a bit.

 

[Ravenworks]

I chatted up an outlaw Harley guy at a stop and rob getting gas.

He had his Harley, bandana on his mouth and sunglasses.

I asked him about bugs. As I was worried about cracking my windshield on the drive out to Vegas the bugs were so hard....

He laughed and said he went through a stretch of gnats that almost made him crash. Glasses covered in gnats, head and face covered in gnats Coughing gnats

I could not imagine hitting a June bug while doing 80 or a rock thrown up by a truck


Helmets help... not a magical device but they are helpful

It's pretty fun when you suck a big ass bumble bee inside your helmet, birds hurt like hell too.
I wish that young trooper a speedy recovery

 

[Lapuapalooza]

Helmets...

Here’s my theory:

Wear a helmet to the value of its contents. If you have a $500 head, then buy a $500 helmet. If you have a $100 head, then buy a $100 helmet. If your head isn’t worth anything....

It’s amazing to me how many “biker” types will literally invest thousands of dollars in T-shirts and useless fashion leather, but complain about the cost of a good helmet. ?

 

[lash]

Living near Daytona Beach, we get biker invasions twice a year. Every year there are dozens of deaths from biker accidents during those special holidays. In almost all of the cases we hear about, the dead were not wearing helmets. Wild and free is all good until that one time.

A good biker friend of mine once told me that there are two kinds of bikers; those that have gone down and those that will. He’s hard core, but wears a helmet.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Well around here you better have the best protective gear money can buy if you want to ride your bike on the roads.
The SUV driving females have no clue about looking around them, they may not even notice as they ram you into a retaining barrier and drive down the highway dragging you along side them (actual recent incident around here). I'm scared enough for my life each day just driving a car.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I wonder if this stuff would help any (when matched with a really good helmet)

 

[Maggot]

Well around here you better have the best protective gear money can buy if you want to ride your bike on the roads.
The SUV driving females have no clue about looking around them, they may not even notice as they ram you into a retaining barrier and drive down the highway dragging you along side them (actual recent incident around here). I'm scared enough for my life each day just driving a car.

WTF is wrong with you W54. Why would they want to pay attention to the road when they have important stuff to do like put on make up and text.

Geeeezz

 

[Spdy]

Well around here you better have the best protective gear money can buy if you want to ride your bike on the roads.
The SUV driving females have no clue about looking around them, they may not even notice as they ram you into a retaining barrier and drive down the highway dragging you along side them (actual recent incident around here). I'm scared enough for my life each day just driving a car.

WTF is wrong with you W54. Why would they want to pay attention to the road when they have important stuff to do like put on make up and text.

Geeeezz

After getting rear ended two different times by people obviously not paying attention i stopped riding street bikes. That was years ago but I still remember being stopped behind a car at a red light and hearing tires lock up behind me. I look in the mirror as a big ass station wagon skids into me. Luckily it had slowed to a "bump" by than.