I’m going to be blunt. Motorcycle riders not wearing helmets give me acid indigestion. Frustration comes before the acid reflux when I spy no helmet, short sleeves, bare legs and a backseat rider with sandals. AND NO HELMETS.
People! Do you not like skin on your body? Because you won’t have skin if you skid out of control and eat the pavement. And road rash is not attractive.
People! Do you not like your brain? Because you won’t have much of one left when your skull meets the back of a semi. Concussions R US.
People! Potholes are a reality. A Harley hog hitting a hole is not pretty. Where and when did you lose that part of your mind that uses logical?
Okay, I’m breathing in and out and calming down. And imagining fluffy puppies.
More than 80 percent of all reported motorcycle crashes result in injury or death to the motorcyclist. The motorcycle itself provides no head injury protection to the rider or passenger. Ejection from the motorcycle is a common injury pathway. If a motorcycle comes to a sudden stop and the rider is ejected from the motorcycle, the rider will forcibly strike objects in the path as well as the ground. www.nhtsa.gov.
After your diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, your mom will be compelled to say to her friends at the weekend flea market, “His father and I told him umpteen times to wear a helmet, but he just wouldn’t listen.” Your granny will spoon-feed you tapioca pudding—you hated it as a toddler and you hate it now. Your annoying younger brother will borrow (and never return) all your cool motorcycle garb because you will never wear it again because you wrecked while not protecting your cranium with a helmet.
Kentucky Motorcycle Helmet Law
KRS 189.285(5) requires the secretary to promulgate administrative regulations establishing minimum standards for protective headgear and eye-protective devices to be used by motorcycle operators. www.legislature.ky.gov.
Kentucky law requires all persons under 21 who operate or ride on a motorcycle to wear a helmet. Helmets are required to be worn by those drivers who have a motorcycle instruction permit and those who have held their motorcycle operator’s license for less than one year.
When the universal helmet law was repealed in Kentucky in 1998, motorcycle fatalities increased by over 50 percent (Source: NHTSA). What rocket scientist was in charge of this legislation?
I can hear naysayers now, “It’s freedom of choice whether I choose to wear a helmet or not. It’s my choice whether my skull hits a wall and fractures into 101 pieces.” Well, how’s that work’n for ya in the emergency room after a crash?
In 2014, there were 1,275 motorcycle injuries and 76 fatalities in Kentucky. Of those injured, 668 were not wearing a helmet. Of those killed, 46 were not wearing a helmet (Source: NHTSA).
The helmet at work. The single most important safety device a motorcyclist can have is a helmet. Motorcycle helmets have a hard outer shell that distributes the force of an impact to protect the skull and prevents objects from piercing it. The crushable inner liner limits the force of impacts by absorbing a portion of the energy that would otherwise reach the head and brain. As the helmet does its job, the number and severity of head injuries are significantly reduced. www.nhtsa.gov.
The Governor’s Commission on Motorcycle Education and Safety is charged with creating programs that help improve the climate for motorcycles and motorcyclists on Kentucky highways by creating and promoting safety training for motorcyclists and awareness programs for other drivers. Kentucky’s Motorcycle Safety Education program meets and exceeds the established national standards for motorcycle rider training courses.
Ah, my esophagus status is neutralizing. Kudos to rider education programs.
Please note that this column is my attempt at penning sarcastic humor about a serious topic. Are you chuckling? Or grabbing something for your own heartburn.
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Southern Ohio.
