Ben Roethlisburger

bobman1235

I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that you WILL be in an accident, but I think there's a pretty good chance. I mean, nearly eveyrone who drives a CAR gets in an accident at SOME point in their lives, whether its their fault or not. Obviously riding a bike is more dangerous than driving in a car, even if you DON'T factor in the increased risk of injury. Throw in the fact that what would be a fender bender in a car would tend to be a broken bone ina bike, then yeah, I'd say there's a really high chance that something bad will happen.

I've only been riding for three years, and already had a BUNCH of close calls, and I'm a relatively careful rider. Even had one quasi accident - an older woman ran a red light on me, and i stopped just in time to tap the back of her car as she drove off... caught the bike before it hit the ground, but still, could have been bad.

I'd say if you're a Harley rider who mostly rides in big packs of people, the chances are much much less. If you and your buddy ride around on rice burners, they're much more. All of us in the middle, just keep your head on a swivel and keep your insurance premiums paid up.

dorokusai

ND13 wrote:

Tell that to my friend that had his neck broken due to the helmet, per the doctor's findings.. Had no head injuries or damage to the helmet. The added weight snapped his neck forwrd on impact a broke it in two. He was in a coma for 10 years bfore they decided to pull the plug.

I'm not taking either side, and I do wear a helmet when I ride my father's Hog.

When it really comes down to it, we all know or have heard of someone who was killed because of their seatbelt , too. I was just pointing out the arguement from the helmet haters. Another is tthey say they can't hear as well and that COULD cause a wreck, too.

Helmet or no helmet, the odds of you getting seriously injured during a motorcycle wreck are not in your favor.

You might want to have your buddy get that documented, thus ending the "myth".

Wear a helmet, sorry you "Ride Free or Die" folks, but you're morons in my book. I'm a motorcyclist.

ohskigod

you hear things like Noels story with the helmet. there is allways anomolies like that. In the infinite number of things that can happen, one is probably being in an isolated situation that snapping a neck solely due to the weight of a helmet could be feasible.
you allways hear stories with seat belts too. there is a rare scenario where having a seatbelt on can actually hurt you, very rare, but possible.

but using those very infrequent stories to justify not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet is weak. being in one of those scenarios is literally like being struck by lightening. far more likely to be in an accident where a helmet or seatbelt will help you than hurt you/get struck by lightening. FAR MORE. in regards to the helmet, its widely known that the skull makes a chintzy carrying case when your going at speeds over 15-20 mph and you hit something

on a side note, ask Fireman32 about his story involving the lack of wearing a seatbelt, and his 18 wheel tractor trailor going *ss over teakettle. its a hoot.

schwarcw

I read somewhere where the insurance company statistics show that 47% of motor cycle riders will experience a serious accident.

I like motorcycles, I like to take my brother's goldwing out whenever I get the chance (BTW, I have no motorcycle license). But the last couple of years I have really thought twice about it. I haven't been on a cycle for a couple of years now.

I do like a icycle for the excercise around the neighborhood in the evenings, and I do where a helmet. More of a show for my 8 years old daughter, but it's probably a good idea. I figure it's your choice and I support that. My advice it to wear it. Or, go very fast so it won't matter if you crash:eek:

schwarcw

The lasted report is that Big Ben has a broken jaw and nose. It that's all, he's very lucky.

Carl

Mazeroth

schwarcw wrote:

The lasted report is that Big Ben has a broken jaw and nose. It that's all, he's very lucky.

Carl

...and VERY stupid!

Dennis Gardner

Not wearing a helmet doesn't make him an idiot, but headbutting that car might.:rolleyes:

I have no problem with him taking those risks, since he has no wife, no kid, or no parent/siblings depending on his income to make ends meet. Besides, I have always hated the f*cking Steelers anyway.:D

If you think he owes it to his organization, fans, or the world, you put way too much importance on it. Its only a game, and it was around successfully for 100 years before he came along. He's not God.

schwarcw

Mazeroth wrote:

...and VERY stupid!

I agree!

schwarcw

Dennis Gardner wrote:

Besides, I have always hated the f*cking Steelers anyway.:D

Cleveland or Dallas fan maybe:D

dorokusai

Doro - No helmet, disfigured for life....no story. I end up in the circus or with a bloddy stump.

Ben - No helmet, previous "Hero", smashmouth accident, plastic surgeon, all better, what a silly man, hes a rebel(Ride free or die BS), hes a role model, do a commecial, live....blah blah

**** him, he chose to ride to be free...thus paid the price, awesome. If you ride without protection?...I will not lose sleep over your death, or disfigurement either...or handicap, loss of wages, family hardship....etc...just think of yourself when you ride that bike! You're cool, you rule!

Yea, the accident scenario folks can go F themselves as well...I'm personally not interested in your rhetoric. I have a taste in this more than you know.

Dennis Gardner

schwarcw wrote:

Cleveland or Dallas fan maybe:D

Go 'boys!!!

Dennis Gardner

Ben has always had a problem with blitzes coming from the left.;) I wonder if they credit that lady with a sack on her insurance premium?

jdhdiggs

The more I hear about this, the more I hope its the end of his football career and nothing else. He should have enough money to live on the rest of his life but I don't want people to see this as a "no helmet, no problem, look at Ben" type of thing. I'd rather it be a "Wear your helmet, remember what happened to Ben" type thing... With no permanent damage to the guy.

bobman1235

If you're modelling your life and behavior after some random pseudo-celeb / athlete, you deserve whatever happens to you.

jdhdiggs

bobman1235 wrote:

If you're modelling your life and behavior after some random pseudo-celeb / athlete, you deserve whatever happens to you.

Unfortunately, isn't that what a lot of the new generation is doing?

Demiurge

I feel more sorry for all the hell that woman driving the car is going to take. They made sure to mention she has a summer home in Maine....:rolleyes:

zombie boy 2000

Demiurge wrote:

I feel more sorry for all the hell that woman driving the car is going to take. They made sure to mention she has a summer home in Maine....:rolleyes:

After listening to talk radio this morning, it seems that most (if not all) Steeler fans are absolutely livid with Big Ben. The older lady seems to be getting a pass.....

Demiurge

zombie boy 2000 wrote:

After listening to talk radio this morning, it seems that most (if not all) Steeler fans are absolutely livid with Big Ben. The older lady seems to be getting a pass.....

I don't think either of them deserve too much crap, but it's good to hear there aren't a lot of crazies blaming her. Ben has to live with what he did and that's probably punishment enough. After all it was an accident, and it could have been anyone. This time it happened to be a QB with a multi-million dollar NFL contract.

madmax

Demiurge wrote:

I think Ben, and everyone else should be able to make a choice with seatbelts and helmets. Everyone knows the consequences.

Do you know the consequences?

Demiurge wrote:

Most of his teeth are gone, broken jaw, and a few other things. They say a plastic surgeon has been called in. Wow....

Who do you think is going to pay for all this? Not him. Either way, whether his or someone elses fault for the accident, more money will be spent because he didn't wear a helmet. Also, penalties are greater for the person at fault if he dies due to their negligence.



madmax

steveinaz

Demiurge wrote:

Just curious, but as a person who also rides a bike, do you think that riding one means you're going to be in a bike crash at some point or seriously injure yourself?

Sure, it's always a possibility. If you're a good car driver, chances are you'll be a good motorcycle rider. On a bike you've got to have your head in the game 100% of the time, and always be looking for an "out" in case something happens. The problem is you've got 16 year olds on 140hp/400lb sportbikes out there who just want to learn how to do wheelies and stoppies. They never learn the basics of real riding. They know nothing of traction, suspension loading, lean angles, etc. What they don't get is that any idiot can twist the throttle---takes no skill whatsoever.

In my 20 years of riding I've witnessed a few bad accidents, but never had one myself--but then look at my car driving record: 28 years (since 16), no accidents, 3 tickets, MY WHOLE LIFE. I've never gotten a ticket on a motorcycle. I've taken 3 advanced rider courses as well. The point of all this? It doesn't matter a bit if some idiot (the REAL idiot) decides to turn in front of me.

I wear a helmet primarily for comfort. Anyone who rides and has taken the occasional quick run to the 7/11 w/o their helmet knows how your eyes water, you can hardly breathe with the force of the wind hitting you in the face; add to that the occasional bug in the forehead or tossed up rock (ouch). For me, as comfortable as modern helmets are these days, it's a no brainer. It's just far more comfortable than dealing with the aforementioned.

Demiurge

madmax wrote:

Do you know the consequences?

Yes, a greater chance of dying in an accident. It should be a choice, just like anything else. Do you think charging $10 for not wearing a seatbelt is really anything more than a revenue enhancer for local and county governments? Give me a break....like I said, you can't legislate common sense.

madmax wrote:

Who do you think is going to pay for all this? Not him. Either way, whether his or someone elses fault for the accident, more money will be spent because he didn't wear a helmet. Also, penalties are greater for the person at fault if he dies due to their negligence.

Well, that is why we have insurance. Insurance is offered because accidents will happen no matter how many laws the nanny crowd wants to pass. Do you have insurance to protect you from injury, or do you have insurance to protect you from huge financial responsibility and expenses to you or someone else? The answer is the latter. Wearing a helmet is your own chosen insurance policy to keep you alive, and that shouldn't be a requirement. It's common sense.

Like has been mentioned earlier, do you eat fatty foods, drink alcohol, or smoke? If you do, you're potentially costing the rest of us money. Potential is the key word, and Ben was involved in an accident. He has to live with his injuries, nobody else. I mean if you want to talk about lawsuits and all that, fine, but you realize that's a different subject. I don't agree that we all have the right to large sums of cash because we were involved in car accidents, but that's just me.

madmax

So I should have to pay $900K rather than $100K or possibly face a few extra years of jail time if I cause an accident because some idiot doesn't want to wear a helmet? Are you serious?
madmax

Demiurge

madmax wrote:

So I should have to pay $900K rather than $100K or possibly face a few extra years of jail time if I cause an accident because some idiot doesn't want to wear a helmet? Are you serious?
madmax

Did I say that, or are you saying that? Think about it, I didn't say that was right. Not to mention, that's why you have insurance.

madmax

It is a question that goes along with someones right to do something stupid, like not wearing a helmet. Are the people around them responsible for them? Yes. Then the people around them have a right to make them as small as a liability as possible.
madmax

Demiurge

madmax wrote:

It is a question that goes along with someones right to do something stupid, like not wearing a helmet. Are the people around them responsible for them? Yes. Then the people around them have a right to make them as small as a liability as possible.
madmax

You're fighting the wrong fight.

Why in the hell are you stopping at helmets? What is that going to save you from in reality? A broken jaw? If you're going to wind up in a wheel chair with a helmet what was going to happen without one? Death? What's worse?

Why aren't you advocating banning motorcycles outright, since you're never completely safe on them? Would that limit the liability more like you argue or not? See where this is going? Hell, let's ban cars too since we can still get in serious accidents in them too, after all...what would lessen the liability more?

Like I said, you can't legislate common sense.

Motorcycle accidents are going to be hellacious with or without helmets. More laws are not what we need.

bobman1235

madmax wrote:

So I should have to pay $900K rather than $100K or possibly face a few extra years of jail time if I cause an accident because some idiot doesn't want to wear a helmet? Are you serious?
madmax

If you're found to be at fault for an accident, then whatever happens to the person is your fault. If you did nothing wrong, and it's truly an ACCIDENT, then you won't be charged 900K OR 100K. So try not to r un anyone down, and you won't have to worry about it.

By your logic, if that person was driving the safest car on the road they would have cost you the least amount of money, so we should all be required to drive the safest car there is.

madmax

bobman1235 wrote:

If you're found to be at fault for an accident, then whatever happens to the person is your fault.

Yes, and I am the one who will have to pay the cost whether it is exagerated by them being unsafe or not. That is my only point.
madmax

Demiurge

madmax wrote:

Yes, and I am the one who will have to pay the cost whether it is exagerated by them being unsafe or not. That is my only point.
madmax

Then you should be for banning motorcycles all together, because that's going to be a bad accident with or without helmets. Certainly moreso than if you hit a car, right?

bobman1235

I SEE your point Max, I just don't agree with it. People shouldn't have to insulate you from yoru own negligence. You're essentially blaming a victim for not protecting himself from you. If I shot someone, should I be pissed at them for not wearing a bullet proof vest? I have to go to jail for 25-life because that a-hole didn't leave the house with a vest on!

Obviously that's a ridiculous and extreme example, I'm just trying to make the point that it's not my or anyone else's responsibility to limit YOUR liability in the case of you hurting me. Yes, it sucks, money-wise for someone who nails a biker. It sucks even more if that biker isn't wearing a helmet. Know what sucks more? Slamming into a pedestrian. I'm betting there's more of those than bikers out there. Should they be wearing helmets? If the only view you're looking at is the view of the liability of a driver who hits them, it's the logical conclusion.

aaharvel

looks like jaw surgery (?)
i'm glad it wasn't any more serious.
next time i bet he'll wear a helmet.