Wickedfinger
07-15-2003, 04:41 PM
(This is in no way to make light of anyone here who has lost anyone to an ATV or motorcycle accident)
How many times would you have either killed yourselves or Really messed yourselves up good in a ATV related crash if you hadn't been wearing your helmets?. A couple of friends of mine and I were talking about this the other day and it really made us think .... and a little scared all at the same time. I can think of at least 2 times where it would have meant the difference between a few stitches at the hospital and the morgue, and probably 4 times where it saved me from a serious injury, rather than a "get up boy and shake it off". One memorable time involved my 500lb Ploaris 400L sport looping out at the crest of a really steep hill and me ejecting off the back. I was having one of those REALLY great days of riding - the ones where you think you can do anything and are invincable. I lined up at the very bottom of the hill and like a fool decided to try and climb it with no run up. I was having a terrible time keeping the front end down while trying to shift my weight around and still keep going up. I somehow managed to make it to the very top when a large rock kicked the front tire out and that did me in. I ejected myself off the rear and fell at least 10 feet back. I smacked my helmet so hard on a rock it cracked and it turned around sideways on my head. I ended up sliding down the hill into a briar bush where I looked up just in time to see the Big Yellow beast tumbling down after me. The handle bar cought me with the full force of the quad right on my chest protector, cracked it in half and knocked the wind out of me. I was lucky to have made it through with just a de-beaded tire, bent bars, sore ribs, broken safety equipment an minor cuts. While I'm a big fan of personal choice and responsibility when it comes to everything in life (including helmet wearing), My personal choice will always be "wear a helmet".
How many times would you have either killed yourselves or Really messed yourselves up good in a ATV related crash if you hadn't been wearing your helmets?. A couple of friends of mine and I were talking about this the other day and it really made us think .... and a little scared all at the same time. I can think of at least 2 times where it would have meant the difference between a few stitches at the hospital and the morgue, and probably 4 times where it saved me from a serious injury, rather than a "get up boy and shake it off". One memorable time involved my 500lb Ploaris 400L sport looping out at the crest of a really steep hill and me ejecting off the back. I was having one of those REALLY great days of riding - the ones where you think you can do anything and are invincable. I lined up at the very bottom of the hill and like a fool decided to try and climb it with no run up. I was having a terrible time keeping the front end down while trying to shift my weight around and still keep going up. I somehow managed to make it to the very top when a large rock kicked the front tire out and that did me in. I ejected myself off the rear and fell at least 10 feet back. I smacked my helmet so hard on a rock it cracked and it turned around sideways on my head. I ended up sliding down the hill into a briar bush where I looked up just in time to see the Big Yellow beast tumbling down after me. The handle bar cought me with the full force of the quad right on my chest protector, cracked it in half and knocked the wind out of me. I was lucky to have made it through with just a de-beaded tire, bent bars, sore ribs, broken safety equipment an minor cuts. While I'm a big fan of personal choice and responsibility when it comes to everything in life (including helmet wearing), My personal choice will always be "wear a helmet".