User Panel
Posted: 6/12/2006 10:12:58 AM EDT
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I feel very strange if I don't have my seatbelt on while I am driving my truck. I just have to put it on.
I also feel very strange if I don't have my helmet on and my motorcycle is running. I just have to put it on. |
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You know, the article doesn't specifically state whether or not he was wearing a helmet. It just mentions that he disliked them. So do I, but I was wearing one the first time I wrecked my bike, and I wasn't wearing one the second time. I was fine both times.
Is it possible that he WAS wearing one? More interesting (to me anyway) is the media's fascination with the helmeted status of fallen riders. Watch any news program, or read any news article regarding a motorcycle crash and the helmet thing will come up. Why do people who don't ride motorcycles give two shits? Hmmm... |
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When you ride without a helmet you aren't a stud, you're an organ donor.
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It's the media. Anything is possible. |
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one more victim of
"i'm 20-something, rich, famous and invincible because of it" i'm pretty sure he could have afforded a helmet. |
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riding your moped at the max speed of 15 mph doesn't count! |
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DING DING DING.... we have a winner. |
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So if he has a broken arm and a broken leg, what flag will the helmet nazis raise?
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And they never mention anything else about the rider's gear, or the quality of that helmet. if a guy is wearing swim trunks and a plastic novelty skid lid, then he's a-ok by the media. |
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I have a Harley and I'm am scared to ride it anymore. I'm not scared of shit usually, I just have a real great life and I don't want ot die or get fucked up on my bike. I think after Sturgis I'm selling it.
Some jackass pulled out in front of me and put me in a ditch, and I havent rode since. I have two good friends who both bought bikes from Strokers and both of those guys spent time in ICU within weeks of each other. |
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Iam really surprised he was allowed to ride one. Most NFL contracts specifically prohibit motorbikes. I guess no repeat.
My Honda Sabre hasnt been really rode since I bought it. No organ donating for me. |
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Well I googled some more news stories, and some specifically state that he was not wearing one. One article also said that he flew over the handlebars and hit the car's windshield before rolling over the back of the car. If he had a direct contact with his head (depending on speed) a helmet might not have made a bit of difference. They're only tested to AT MOST a 15mph impact. I remember that in my case, I was doing 70mph when I went down. That's 70mph horizontally. I'm sure that my speed vertically was less than 10mph or so. The helmet (a full face) didn't really do much for me impact-wise, other than make my neck sore as hell. It DID keep my face nice and perty, though. My face was the only part of me not bloody. The second time I went down, I wasn't wearing a helmet, but I managed to keep my head from smacking the road. The rest of me was tore up, though. You know what I love about these stories? They never bother to ask whether or not he was wearing proper protective clothing. All they care about is the helmet. In both of my accidents, my head was fine, but I have scars all over the place from the road rash. Not one person in my family asked why I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. As I'm laying there taking pain killers and wrapped in bandages after the first accident, all they can think to say is "Well, at least you wore a helmet. You were LUCKY". Lucky? Fuck. The second time, looking at my bloody torso, legs and arms, they say "WHY WEREN'T YOU WEARING A HELMET?!!!", while somehow ignoring the fact that my head didn't have a solitary scratch on it. People are strange creatures, indeed. It's like they're robots with preprogrammed responses to common events, or something. |
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Custom bikes? Those WCC type bikes look cool, but I often wonder how well they handle. The super low seats, super stoopid high/wide handlebars, the looooooong rake/trail in the forks, long wheelbase.......they all add up to really slow and crappy handling to me. If you ride, it WILL happen. I've been lucky and dodged a few. Doesn't mean I'll dodge the next one. Hell, I hate to jinx myself by posting in this thread even. |
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He's going to look silly with a superbowl ring on his hand the controls the Joystick on the wheelchair!
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Here is what they just stated and showed pictures/video of on Foxnews:
Witnesses said he hit the front passenger side of a car that turned in front of him. Went over the handlebars, head first into the windshield, no helmet. From the pictures it looked like his head/face slapped the upper passenger side corner of the windshield. He then rolled across the hood, landed on his knees and banged his head on the pavement. |
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It is funny because one of those guys brought his bike by here to show it to me. Me and one of the guys that work for me were outside looking at it and we asked him "Where is your helmet?" He said, I just turn my cap around. That high angle rake is hard to ride huh? He said, Nope it is easy. I bet the brakes on this thing suck huh? He said, You would be suprised how good they are. Next fucking day, I get a call that he is in surgery and I need to call his wife. |
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I wonder how fast he was going? |
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This is THE classic bike accident. Cager makes left turn in front of oncoming bike............ |
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The last time I got hit on a motorcycle, I got popped from behind in rush hour traffic and sent flying. I got knocked out and had a concussion. It cracked my helmet . If not for the helmet, it would have been my skull that cracked. All of you tough guys who scoff at wearing a helmet are insane. |
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From the looks of the city intersection it happened in I would bet not very fast. It was the entrance to a tunnel or something. Helmet probably would have prevented most of the reported injuries. |
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"The bones will heal; at least he survived without major head trauma"? Yeah, that sounds pretty unreasonable. |
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It depends on the builder's comprehension of rake and trail principles. Smart builders use raked tripple trees to keep everything kosher (within limits). 36 degrees in the neck (with raked trees) seems to be the absolute max I'm comfortable with. Past a certain point, and the shocks don't work unless you hit a wall (think about it). I've seen bikes that raised an inch in the front when the handlebars were cranked all the way to the stops. Still, low seats, handlebars no higher than shoulder height, and an engineered approach to bike building can result in a bike that looks cool, AND handles well. I don't pay much attention to the builders on TV, since I can't afford their stuff anyway. |
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Even if he is capable of playing, I bet his contract was voided upon crashing. Most pro contracts have that now.
How stupid. |
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I thought you meant the guy that hosts made in america and I was worried, now that I see he was an athlete I am no longer worried.
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If it was at 25mph or so, I think you're right. It'd at least help. |
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Reminds me of the beginning of The Sixth Day. Just clone his ass.
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So, then, why does he wear a helmet (and other protective clothing) when he plays football?
Anyone who rides a motorcycle without a helmet doesn't have a brain worth saving, in my estimation. Worse are the Neanderthals who don't even let their girlfriends wear a helmet. I think helmet laws are stoooopid. Not nearly as stoooopid as not wearing one, though. I wonder if he was thinking, as his head did a Marty McFly off the pavement, "Yeah! Stick it to the Man! This'll show 'em!" |
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Perhaps so some future motorcycle rider will see that not wearing protective gear does have real world consequences? Not limited to a helmet. I'm not sure I'd want my helmeted head to survive if the highway grinds the skin off of my arms/legs/torso. Jim |
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I'm sure some of them handle fairly well, but I would rather be on my CBR600F2 if I have to dodge a car than a chopper that's 11 feet long!!! You know what I mean...... |
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but type of bike was he on?
it looked like a gsxr with a polished frame and wheels from the brief video footage I saw on the boob tube. |
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As far as the helmet issue goes......for better or worse, he was exercising his personal freedom. From everything I've heard, Big Ben has been not just a great player, but a good guy. I hope he recovers quickly.
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At higher speeds it doesn't matter what you're wearing, the low speed accidents are where a helmet provides the most protection from injury. I've had dirt and street bikes, three wheelers, and four wheelers off and on for the last 20 years, only ridden without a helmet maybe three times in my life. Helmets have saved my melon on a few occasions. |
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From: here
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That's probably why he was riding a Hyabusa.. |
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Thank you! Is the irony of this injury to an athlete, who wouldn't be allowed to compete in his profession without a helmet being lost here? Taking a shot from a 300 lb lineman who is coming at you after a 10-15 yard full sprint can be pretty violent, but doesn't compare to the potential impact a rider can suffer when he hits a car head-on. At this point, it doesn't look as though this was a high speed collision, but obviously plenty of damage can be done to your cranium at lower speeds. This is a dumbass mistake of the highest order, from a person who has a whole lot to lose and should know better. I sure hope he makes it out of this okay. |
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Even as a custom chop owner, I'm with you. If I knew I was going to have to do some REALLY creative manuvering, I'd rather be on your CBR600F2 as well. |
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I didn't know that Kimo von Oelhoffen lived in Maine. |
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Part of the fascination with helmets & riders is states like Colorado which force all autommobile occupants to be belted in, but motorcycle riders need not wear helmets. |
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He was riding a Suzuki Hayabusa.
I read that he lost most of his teeth, had a 9 inch cut to the back of his head, fractured his sinus cavity bone, broken jaw and severely injured both of his knees. |
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IMHO, the whole helmet 'law' thing is BS. When I ride, do I wear a helmet? Yeah.. Should the state mandate that? Nope.
It's just like any other form of over-governing IMHO. Yeah, folks who see helmetless riders can scoff, call them dumb, whatever, but it's ultimately their OWN decision, as it should be. Unless you live in a state which mandates it. $.02 |
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Interesting point. I don't support mandatory seatbelt laws either, and I can see how angry it would make a non-motorcyclist. It does seem unequal and a bit hypocrytical on the part of lawmakers. There's a couple of things that probably need mentioning, if it helps: 1. Motorcyclists tend to be very well organized. They support groups who lobby in their best interest. It's been very effective in many states. Given the MUCH larger number of motorists, I've always been suprised that they never did the same. 2. The consequences of not wearing a seat belt are very well documented and are easy to test and verify. I wish we could say the same for motorcycles. It's exceedingly difficult to test various motorcycle accident scenarios in a controlled manner. Unfortunately, all we seem to have are personal accounts of accident scenes, anecdotal evidence, and lots of speculation. I hope this is remedied someday. There are alot of misconceptions on both sides of the helmet issue. Both sides tend to invalidate their point simply by over stating it. |
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<------- KS - Seatbelt law, no helmet law. Further, a recent law mandates child seats for all children under 4'-9". No word on whether adults under 4'-9" have to be in booster seats. ... and we're supposed to be a "conservative" state. Yeah, right. Kansas: It's as Big Government as you think. |
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I lived in Pittsburgh for a while so I've been following this story with a bit of interest. I feel bad for the guy because most of the serious injuries listed (lost teeth, laceration to the head) could have been prevented by wearing a helmet.
<-- owns two Vanson armored jackets (GP hard armor) and always wore a full face helmet |
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I hope he recovers fully.
But if he starts hanging out with Gary Busey ..... |
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