|
Article (2) A Helmet and Two Friends
by Rod Jones
Life is
about choices. Most of us prefer to have choices in matters effecting our
lives. Here in Florida we are more fortunate than many of our fellow
riders in other states—we are able to choose whether to wear a helmet or
not when we ride. I like having that choice. But having said that, I will
tell you that I always choose to wear a helmet, a DOT approved helmet. Why
I make that choice is the subject of this article, and no, this is not a
recitation of the statistics and studies on the subject that all of us
have heard before. Rather, it is a tale of two friends—two of my friends.
My first friend, whom I’ll call Don, has been riding for over 40 years and
has been around motorcycles virtually his entire life. He started out
riding on the back of his father’s motorcycle, and owned Yamaha’s,
Kawasaki’s and Honda’s, before buying his first Harley 12 years ago. Don
has been a certified Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor for many
years. In other words, he
knows motorcycles and motorcycle safety. But sometimes that isn't enough.
Several years ago, Don
was riding in the country with friends—not a great day since it had begun
to rain. Then it happened. The rider in front of him went down. Don got on
his brakes and was bringing the bike to a stop while avoiding the downed
rider when he ran out of pavement. The bike slid out from under him on the
soft shoulder, and Don was thrown off the bike and slammed on to the
pavement headfirst. Bleeding badly from cuts and abrasions to his face, he
was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Fortunately, he was
released after a day and healed quickly. Today he is no worse for the wear
because the helmet he wore that day saved his life.
My other
friend, whom I’ll call Mark, was also an experienced rider, although
probably not as experienced as Don. I met Mark through HOG—we were both
members of the same club. We participated in club events and some
socials. Although I didn’t know Mark nearly as well as I knew Don, I
knew him well enough to know he was a good person, a hard worker, and an
avid biker. About a year ago, Mark and a friend were out for a morning
ride. As they were riding along a four-lane divided highway, Mark’s bike
suddenly and inexplicably veered into the center island. The ground was
wet and the bike went out of control. Mark was thrown from the bike and
sustained massive head injuries when he hit the ground. He was
transported by helicopter to the hospital, but died that same day. Mark
had a helmet, but chose not to wear it that day. A different choice
likely would have saved him.
So, for me, I don’t need a lot of
statistics to convince me to wear a helmet when I ride. I do it on the
advice of my two friends, one with whom I’m still able to talk and the
other who speaks to me from the grave.
|