Am now always tempted to ride without helmet  By  jdmsoldier (Read 5,900 times)

I had to go to the post office today, then on my way to the store i was making a right turn. It was raining a little, and the ground was wet. I slowed down before the turn, then in a second my bike slid before I knew it I hit the ground and my head bounced a few times as well as my body bounced and rolled until I was flat on my back. I tried to get up but couldn't at the moment cause the pain or impact kinda put my body in some sort of shock. When I did get up there were all these guys asking If I was ok, and one of them said "its a good thing you were wearing that helmet." When I sat up I did a body check see If I had any wounds and besides a few scrapes, the one right on my knee stood out cause a small amount was missing. At the time it seemed pretty deep, but it was semi. A lifeguard was around by chance and he pulled out his med kit and did a temp clean just a little and dressed it, a cop came later also.

My bike barely took any damage. there was only 1-2 small scratches the barely noticeable kind, and the medium sized gash was on the bottom near the footrest which doesnt bother me as its kinda white/silverish anyway. My right mirror got busted though and broke off when it hit the ground.

At the time I wasn't wearing pants, and the biggest damage to my body couldve been avoided if i had been. I was wearing gloves, boots, and a helmet though. There was some scrapes on the back and front of the helmet near the mouth. I went home then changed into pants and a jacket and drove myself to the hospital after looking over the wound in the bathroom. They scrubbed and flushed it which hurt a lot and I was on my way.

I never thought it would happen to me, but it finally did. Later I went to the store with a fam member to go pick up bandages and noticed that the place where I crash also had pedestrian cross walk white stripes, which may or may have not contributed to the skid. I would have worn my helmet anyway, just cause it was raining to begin with, but im glad i had a helmet on anyway, just wish I had some pants on. I wasnt scared to ride again, but I was worried about rain, and turns now. Before I was worried when I would ride in the rain, but have done it often to where I felt less worried. There was only one other time where it rained and felt if I was almost going to slid at a turn but didnt.

Honestly though, when I saw and heard the mirror busted in my head I was disappointed. It's kinda weird, but while this was all happening in a split second, I felt safe, and felt that nothing major was going to happen, but felt disappointed that this was my first crash, and that my bike was possibly damaged other than the mirror. Now, I need some new pairs of pants and a new mirror. I still like wearing t-shirts, but I dont want the same crap on my arm that I got on my leg. I still havent bought a proper jacket yet, cause money is tight and need it for other things. It's irony im the one who posted about how i dislike wearing a helmet, but today it potentially saved me from something worse.

Also, i know this doesnt pertain to a lot of people, but I was also wearing an electronic cigarette around my neck on a lanyard. My chest hurt for a while later, but now its gone. My e-cig is fine..lol, but thought it was busted up the way it was looking on the ground. I was always worried about having it around my neck when driving, but if I would put it in my pocket, the cartomizer bent once, and that wasted $3. I thought then thought I should put it in my trunk but it would roll around and bounce in there, and I like to smoke sometimes while at stoplights and heavy traffic. I dunno how potentially dangerous it is, but I know it is dangerous. I do have a cushion case for it, looks like I wont be smoking at stop lights from now on unless I fit the case in my pocket..

I'm so glad you weren't hurt very badly, soldier!

What kind of insurance do you have on your bike? I know if you have full coverage, you can make a claim and they'll replace your helmet. When I went down, the adjustor saw the scrapes on my helmet and mentioned it. I told him I had talked to my MSF coaches and they had examined it and said since it wasn't impact but sliding it didn't need replacing.

As I typed that, I wondered if even just collision would include your helmet. You might check into it. And use that money to buy the new helmet--don't use it for whatever else. And then either go try on and buy from your brick'n'mortar, or find a good deal online that will allow helmet returns in case the helmet you choose isn't right for your head's shape.

Just remember--your mirror is pretty easily replaced. So is your helmet. You head wouldn't have been. Thank you for choosing to wear your helmet despite you felt uncomfortable and confined.

>'Kat

Tarkus is right, there very well could be damage you can't see but that would render it pretty useless in any other collision/fall. That's why I took mine to my MSF coaches. And why they had me describe the fall. Mine, there wasn't impact, my bike took all the impact. My helmet just ended up sliding. Otherwise I would've replaced it.

If you really can't afford a replacement, then I'd say a compromised helmet is still better than no helmet at all. But don't forget that it could be less protecting, and get complacent and blow off a new one. Every time you put on that helmet, remind yourself it's been in a fall and you really should look to replace it. It sounds stupid, but I do mean EVERY time. 'Cause that way you don't end up forgetting.

As for new aches and sores, oh my dear soldier you're learning the fun delayed fact of any sort of accident. Get hit in a car but you feel fine, not so the next day. Best thing (which any guy I suggest this to shies from) is to get in the tub and run the hottest water you can handle. Take along some mindless book (I do historical romance--lots of swords and action, some romance, and not much thinking) and just soak 'til the water cools. Hunker down so your neck gets soaking, straighten up so your legs and knees can soak. Do it every night before bed for a few days.

It's one method I kept my strained back muscle from becoming a workman's comp claim.

>'Kat

Late to this conversation, I have an opinion on the subject though.

In the 60's I would ride with shorts on, in a tee shirt and wearing Sunglasses even though I had a helmet.

In the 70's California passed a helmet law and it made me mad, what the heck made them think they had a right to make me wear a helmet, I was also now required to wear a seat belt when driving my car, but refused to because they could not see the seat belt anyway, until the car makers started putting three point belts in the car.

I had a friend that fell from the back of a truck as it was pulling away from a stop, he hit his head and was severely injured, he spent a year in rehab and was never the same after that.

We had a member on the old sight, Bluefront, who was killed in a scooter accident about two years ago, July 9, 2011. He was a great guy and is missed by some of us even today. I am sure he was wearing all the gear.

List people we do things every day to protect our self, we pay for insurance for the home, for the car, for health. We do for the most part use a seat belt. We obey traffic laws because if we do not we are putting more risks in our way. Nothing will make us totally safe if we do everything right, accidents still happen.

The only thing we can do is reduce the risk by doing what we can to add as much protection as possible.

"I had a friend that fell from the back of a truck as it was pulling away from a stop, he hit his head and was severely injured, he spent a year in rehab and was never the same after that."

I would bet that 100% of those who severely injured themselves because they weren't wearing a helmet, wish they had been wearing one. I can't imagine...even from the most pride-filled person, ever saying "I know I hurt myself really bad, and I may never be the same again, but I'm sure glad I didn't have a helmet on, the wind felt great right before the wreck. "

Just sayin

Funny that you mentioned Nolan because that's the brand I was looking at. Was thinking the N90 would be a nice addition plus they seem to be on sell everywhere I look for about $170. Will have to see what funds look like after Christmas. Was looking at the N104 but at almost $400 its a little steep for my wallet.

Have seen reviews on modular helmets and most say the Nolan line is some of the better vented helmets. So maybe one of your vents is plugged?