Helmets Work!

Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

I went over my handlebars and wedged between the driver and passenger.
I guess the impact knocked the driver's hand off the clutch because
the motorcycle accelerated sharply, then we all hit the pavement hard
amid a shower of shattered glass and chrome. My head went directly
into the pavement; I hit on the top of my head. The motorcycle driver
and passenger fell to the right; both of them hit their heads on the
pavement and were knocked unconscious.

The difference was that I was wearing protective headgear that split
on impact as it should have; the motorcyclists were not wearing
helmets. I stood up and walked away with a few scrapes and a
shattered helmet. The motorcyclist and his passenger were picked up
by EMS; the passenger was in the ICU for a couple of days; however, I
heard that she was transferred to a normal room a few days ago. All
three of us fell from the same height at the same speed... yet one of
us walked away while the other two were carried away on stretchers.

I never thought I'd ever join the headfirst club. I wasn't even a big
fan of helmets, myself. I only wore one because my wife, who is a
medical doctor, convinced me that I was being irresponsible not to
even though I have good health insurance. The motorcyclists had not a
shred of insurance of any type, by the way, and my '77 Paramount is
pretty much totaled... well, maybe I shouldn't be thinking about that;
at least I'm not getting moved to the charity ward.

On 8/4/2013 4:01 PM, M H Headley wrote:
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

I went over my handlebars and wedged between the driver and passenger.
I guess the impact knocked the driver's hand off the clutch because
the motorcycle accelerated sharply, then we all hit the pavement hard
amid a shower of shattered glass and chrome. My head went directly
into the pavement; I hit on the top of my head. The motorcycle driver
and passenger fell to the right; both of them hit their heads on the
pavement and were knocked unconscious.

The difference was that I was wearing protective headgear that split
on impact as it should have; the motorcyclists were not wearing
helmets. I stood up and walked away with a few scrapes and a
shattered helmet. The motorcyclist and his passenger were picked up
by EMS; the passenger was in the ICU for a couple of days; however, I
heard that she was transferred to a normal room a few days ago. All
three of us fell from the same height at the same speed... yet one of
us walked away while the other two were carried away on stretchers.

I never thought I'd ever join the headfirst club. I wasn't even a big
fan of helmets, myself. I only wore one because my wife, who is a
medical doctor, convinced me that I was being irresponsible not to
even though I have good health insurance. The motorcyclists had not a
shred of insurance of any type, by the way, and my '77 Paramount is
pretty much totaled... well, maybe I shouldn't be thinking about that;
at least I'm not getting moved to the charity ward.



That sounds awful. Glad you're OK, and best wishes to the rider and his
passenger. My sympathies on the loss of your Paramount.

nate

"M H Headley" wrote in message
...
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

I went over my handlebars and wedged between the driver and passenger.
I guess the impact knocked the driver's hand off the clutch because
the motorcycle accelerated sharply, then we all hit the pavement hard
amid a shower of shattered glass and chrome. My head went directly
into the pavement; I hit on the top of my head. The motorcycle driver
and passenger fell to the right; both of them hit their heads on the
pavement and were knocked unconscious.

The difference was that I was wearing protective headgear that split
on impact as it should have; the motorcyclists were not wearing
helmets. I stood up and walked away with a few scrapes and a
shattered helmet. The motorcyclist and his passenger were picked up
by EMS; the passenger was in the ICU for a couple of days; however, I
heard that she was transferred to a normal room a few days ago. All
three of us fell from the same height at the same speed... yet one of
us walked away while the other two were carried away on stretchers.

I never thought I'd ever join the headfirst club. I wasn't even a big
fan of helmets, myself. I only wore one because my wife, who is a
medical doctor, convinced me that I was being irresponsible not to
even though I have good health insurance. The motorcyclists had not a
shred of insurance of any type, by the way, and my '77 Paramount is
pretty much totaled... well, maybe I shouldn't be thinking about that;
at least I'm not getting moved to the charity ward.


I'm glad you had a helmet on. Whenever I looked at my bike helmet after
a spill, I was glad it was my helmet that cracked and not my skull.

Bell replace mine; I think at cost? Do they still do that?

"M H Headley" wrote in message
...
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

I went over my handlebars and wedged between the driver and passenger.
I guess the impact knocked the driver's hand off the clutch because
the motorcycle accelerated sharply, then we all hit the pavement hard
amid a shower of shattered glass and chrome. My head went directly
into the pavement; I hit on the top of my head. The motorcycle driver
and passenger fell to the right; both of them hit their heads on the
pavement and were knocked unconscious.

The difference was that I was wearing protective headgear that split
on impact as it should have; the motorcyclists were not wearing
helmets. I stood up and walked away with a few scrapes and a
shattered helmet. The motorcyclist and his passenger were picked up
by EMS; the passenger was in the ICU for a couple of days; however, I
heard that she was transferred to a normal room a few days ago. All
three of us fell from the same height at the same speed... yet one of
us walked away while the other two were carried away on stretchers.

There used to be a set of photos on rotten.com of some bloke who'd gone over
the handlebars of a small capacity motorcycle with no helmet.

His skull had popped open on impact and his brain (what's left of it) had
bounced/flopped/rolled some distance away.

His headache probably didn't last long.

On 8/4/2013 1:01 PM, M H Headley wrote:
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

snip

Did you have a front flashing light on the front of your bicycle? Motor
vehicles are _much_ less likely to pull out in front of you like that
when you make yourself more conspicuous. It's almost amusing to see the
vehicle begin to pull out, suddenly notice the flashing light, then stop
(or even backup slightly to be out of the bike lane or out of the shoulder).

It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

Glad you were wearing a helmet. Be prepared for a rash of post claiming,
"there's no proof that you know that you would have been badly injured
if you had not been wearing a helmet."

On 8/4/2013 4:29 PM, sms wrote:
On 8/4/2013 1:01 PM, M H Headley wrote:
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

snip

Did you have a front flashing light on the front of your bicycle? Motor
vehicles are _much_ less likely to pull out in front of you like that
when you make yourself more conspicuous. It's almost amusing to see the
vehicle begin to pull out, suddenly notice the flashing light, then stop
(or even backup slightly to be out of the bike lane or out of the
shoulder).

It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

Glad you were wearing a helmet. Be prepared for a rash of post claiming,
"there's no proof that you know that you would have been badly injured
if you had not been wearing a helmet."

Way to put the "ass" in "class" there Steven. We've already got one
active thread on blinkies, which although we disagree seemed to be
remaining rather civil and on topic. Using a story of an unfortunate
incident to push your agenda, not cool.

And I'd put a blinkie on a Paramount about as soon as I'd put DRLs on a
3.0CSL Batmobile.

nate

On 08-04-2013 16:29, sms wrote:
It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

Indeed. Almostas amazing are the ones who have the right-of-way, see a
bicycle that can't possible reach them in sixty seconds, yet stop and
wait.

But the most amazing are the ones who do that, then take off as soon as
you begin to enter the intersection.

--
Wes Groleau

He that complies against his will is of the same opinion still.
— Samuel Butler, 1612-1680

Nate Nagel writes:

On 8/4/2013 4:29 PM, sms wrote:
On 8/4/2013 1:01 PM, M H Headley wrote:
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

snip

Did you have a front flashing light on the front of your bicycle? Motor
vehicles are _much_ less likely to pull out in front of you like that
when you make yourself more conspicuous. It's almost amusing to see the
vehicle begin to pull out, suddenly notice the flashing light, then stop
(or even backup slightly to be out of the bike lane or out of the
shoulder).

It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

Glad you were wearing a helmet. Be prepared for a rash of post claiming,
"there's no proof that you know that you would have been badly injured
if you had not been wearing a helmet."

Way to put the "ass" in "class" there Steven. We've already got one
active thread on blinkies, which although we disagree seemed to be
remaining rather civil and on topic. Using a story of an unfortunate
incident to push your agenda, not cool.

And I'd put a blinkie on a Paramount about as soon as I'd put DRLs on
a 3.0CSL Batmobile.


How about some reflective adhesive tape.

On 8/4/2013 5:01 PM, Dan wrote:
Nate Nagel writes:

On 8/4/2013 4:29 PM, sms wrote:
On 8/4/2013 1:01 PM, M H Headley wrote:
Last week I was riding early on a Sunday morning. The 7:00 AM morning
traffic was very light; I was on a slight downgrade with the wind to
my back, running flat out on the 56-tooth front ring... I'm guessing I
was doing slightly better than 30 MPH.

Suddenly, a large motorcycle pulled up to the street from the parking
lot of a motel; I saw the driver's head turn to his left looking
directly at me, then the vehicle proceeded to pull directly into my
immediate path (I guess I was invisible?); I got onto my brakes, but
it was way too late and I t-boned the motorcycle dead center.

snip

Did you have a front flashing light on the front of your bicycle? Motor
vehicles are _much_ less likely to pull out in front of you like that
when you make yourself more conspicuous. It's almost amusing to see the
vehicle begin to pull out, suddenly notice the flashing light, then stop
(or even backup slightly to be out of the bike lane or out of the
shoulder).

It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

Glad you were wearing a helmet. Be prepared for a rash of post claiming,
"there's no proof that you know that you would have been badly injured
if you had not been wearing a helmet."

Way to put the "ass" in "class" there Steven. We've already got one
active thread on blinkies, which although we disagree seemed to be
remaining rather civil and on topic. Using a story of an unfortunate
incident to push your agenda, not cool.

And I'd put a blinkie on a Paramount about as soon as I'd put DRLs on
a 3.0CSL Batmobile.


How about some reflective adhesive tape.


How's that going to help at 7 AM in presumably late July or early
August? And no, I wouldn't do that either. My bike is a practical
beater. A Paramount is something else.

nate

"sms" wrote in message
...
Did you have a front flashing light on the front of your bicycle?

lol


It's amazing how many drivers can look directly at a bicycle but the
bicycle's presence simply does not register. Or they think, "it's a
bicycle, it must be going slow, and it's far away enough that I have
time to go."

I wear bright yellow or orange tshirts and they often still don't see
me, even though I see them look right at me... Bike are much less
visible than cars, and I think some people are just looking for cars.
It's scary how many don't seem to even look for or notice pedestrians.