Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Chris8187 wrote:

Shorts wrote:"I was close to dying".... Oh paleeze! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! Now he's living it up in the spotlight, glorifying his recovery/accident?? pssh, give my a freakin' break!

Just to be fair, he said the paramedics told him he could've very well died that day. It isn't the same as a buddy's story about accidents they have had, which people tend to exaggerate.

You're right, it isn't the same. But I am one of those who's been near death as well. That tends to happen when one shatters C5-C7 with such massive blood loss they cannot find they're packing in donated blood. Needles to say, I'm in the same shoes as Ben, yet I don't go around announcing it, and what seems like to me, for attention.

I'm not saying his accident wasn't serious, I'm saying that announcing and making a show of it just seems so.....aw heck, I don't know a good word...it just doesn't seem...ehh

Harry Hurt in action:

Helmet not issue

Re columnist Robert Rector's "Born to be hog wild? At least wear a helmet:"

Hey, folks, motorcycle accidents are a lot more complicated than just helmets!

Lucky No. 7, Ben Roethlisberger, was tooling down the street in his 200 mph racing-design motorcycle but couldn't stop from 35 mph when the automobile turned left in front of him.

In this typical motorcycle crash, he vaulted head first into the car windshield that fractured over a wide area. Then his upper and lower jaw, teeth, sinuses and nose fractured, too, with painful results. These facial fractures and the shattering windshield combined to absorb the impact and prevent brain injury.

Any typical open-face motorcycle helmet would have offered absolutely no protection in this crash and the results would have been exactly the same!

The most serious problem is that otherwise careful and friendly people in cars and trucks come up to an intersection and look - but don't see - the oncoming motorcycle, and then they turn left into the right-of-way of the motorcycle and cause a crash.

Motorcycle riders can get on a motorcycle that can go 150 to 200 mph but they can't stop in an emergency condition because of the divided front and rear brake controls, and lack of specialized training (which is offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation).

OK, at least wear a helmet, but motorcycle accidents involve a lot more than just helmets! Drivers have to be careful and watch for other cars, pedestrians and especially motorcycles.

Roethlisberger's crash was caused by the inattention of the driver of the other vehicle; Ben couldn't avoid that crash. In this particular crash, the standard open-face helmet would have made no difference and only a very high quality full facial coverage helmet (with strong and well padded chin bar) would have made any difference at all.

So often "experts" like writer Rector want to shift the attention and responsibility to the injured motorcycle rider, and make them out as the bad guy. But let's get real; No. 7's failure to wear a helmet didn't have anything whatsoever to do with his crash or his severe injuries.

H. H. Hurt Jr.

Professor Emeritus, USC

Head Protection Research Laboratory

Los Angeles

how many Busa owners ride with an OPEN face helmet. that article has some points, the other driver, having too big a bike ECT. but a helmet stilol would have been a good idea bucko.

I also think we are missing one more ingredient. This man has a massive ego and believed that it would not happen to him. This in itself could be the cause of the accident. When we acknowledge that it could happen to us then we move up a level on the awareness meter. A little bit of fear can be a good thing.

It's just like all the motorcycles I see with people wearing t-shirts and shorts. It doesnt matter whos fault the accident is, your still a mentally challenged if you think face, skin and pavement are a good combo. Now the taxpayers have to pay for all his surgery becasue he's a moron. It doesnt matter how good of a rider you are, some day your going down and without a helmet and leathers it's not going to be good at any speed.

Why does every one keep harping on him riding a Hyabusa? He was going 35 mph and the car cut him off...it could have happened to anyone riding any type of bike... Is a Hyabusa dangerously fast? yes, but it wasen't a factor in this case..

I agree with the previous poster on, where is all the hype about the car that cut him off? if I was Ben I'd be pitching a fit about driver awareness and use my high profile status for a good cause instead of just saying "I forgot my helmet in the basement"...

Wheelie fever wrote:It's just like all the motorcycles I see with people wearing t-shirts and shorts. It doesnt matter whos fault the accident is, your still a mentally challenged if you think face, skin and pavement are a good combo. Now the taxpayers have to pay for all his surgery becasue he's a moron. It doesnt matter how good of a rider you are, some day your going down and without a helmet and leathers it's not going to be good at any speed.

Are those Dragging jeans you're wearing in your avatar pic? If not, you should know that they immediatly tear up once you hit the ground. Just thought I should mention it since your so concerned about gear.

Sweet Tooth wrote:Are those Dragging jeans you're wearing in your avatar pic? If not, you should know that they immediatly tear up once you hit the ground. Just thought I should mention it since your so concerned about gear.

What is your source if I may ask? I know a guy who slid his bike wearing normal jeans and while they may not have held up as well as dragging jeans or leathers, they saved him from getting a lot of roadrash. Yes, he got some, but they did help him a lot.

Someone posted a link a few days ago to a site where someone loaded a pair of standard denim jeans with 100lbs of sand and dragged them behind a truck to simulate a get-off at speed. They said after 100 feet at 35MPH the jeans were worn down and had one small rip but were not leaking sand and were completely wearable...NOT "ripped like tissue" as many claim.

Haven't tried it myself and can't find the link now...

OoJRod06oO wrote:

Sweet Tooth wrote:Are those Dragging jeans you're wearing in your avatar pic? If not, you should know that they immediatly tear up once you hit the ground. Just thought I should mention it since your so concerned about gear.

What is your source if I may ask? I know a guy who slid his bike wearing normal jeans and while they may not have held up as well as dragging jeans or leathers, they saved him from getting a lot of roadrash. Yes, he got some, but they did help him a lot.[/quote

I only made the statement because he was talking about "Helmet and leathers" since he's wearing jeans just wanted to point out that jeans are not as strong as leathers.

I also know a guy who wiped out on an oil slick on the road and slid down the street only to have his jeans tear apart. Are jeans better than nothing, yes... are they better than leathers or textile or something stronger, no.