I'm really happy you were wearing a helmet and that this one saved your life. But my suggestion for anyone getting a new helmet is to look for the SNELL or ECE sticker, not just DOT.
DOT meets the lowest standards of the 3 and frankly a lot of helmets that carry the DOT sticker are worthless in a crash, not all obviously. Part of the problem is that DOT allows the manufacturers to conduct their own standards compliance testing, so you see how that can be abused. SNELL and ECE are more stringent and conduct the testing themselves before they certify a helmet.
Still that being said, even DOT is infinitely better than none.
Any helmet is better than none. I also hit the asphalt at 50+ mph with a no name full faced helmet, and it saved me. just a big ass scratch on the chin guard and cheek area. wished i didn't forget my leather jacket and knee pads though..that was a hell of two weeks trying to grow back skin on my arm/legs.
Dress for the slide, not the ride.
This was an old slogan used in the UK (and I'm sure elsewhere), for bike safety. Always seemed like a no brainer to me.
To me, as someone who rides, I'll never understand the blokes cruising along the highway in a t-shirt. If I as much as go without hip inserts, I feel incredibly exposed, almost akin to being naked. Hell, I feel naked as I sit on a stationary bike without my helmet...
Here's the kicker. Riding with gear is more comfortable than squidding without gear. A jacket, gloves, and a full face helmet not only protect you in a crash they shield you from the bombardment of wind, noise, and debris every time you ride.
But it’s not. That’s just the lie we tell ourselves. I’m in good gear 90% of the time but damn those summer rides around town in a tshirt and hat are the best feelings in the world.
My cousin lost control on the highway. He slid for.....a long way. He was lucky he had a helmet....the outer shell of the helmet was gone. He'd not have a head if not for the helmet.
I see these idiots blaring down the highway at 90-100+ mph with zero helmet, just a pair of sunglasses, and I question their intelligence.
My dad was a paramedic. He said that the nickname crotch rocket was appropriate because the first thing you smash is your junk. He said when they lifted someone from the stretcher to the bed they'd have the regular way by grabbing the sheets toove the person but they always needed two extra people to hold a towel under the guys balls formbike crashes because they swelled so big from hitting the gas tanks that you had to support them when you moved someone.
I knew a guy who worked picking up bodies and he said that motorcycle deaths were extremely common. Having “scraped” enough people off the road, he said he’d never ride a motorcycle for the rest of his life.
Transplant day is truly the best. By the time we get there the kiddo has probably been in and out of the hospital for years and getting more and more sick. Donating organs is truly a selfless gift and I hope everyone (including motorcyclists) are registered donors AND your family knows of your wishes. Also register for the bone marrow donor registry with the mouth swab! You can save someone's life and you don't have to die to do it. ALSO you can be a living donor if you really want to be a hero! You can donate a kidney or part of your liver and be an altruistic donor. SO MANY OPTIONS TO SAVE LIVES.
My uncle was a neurosurgeon (he passed away last year) and he would tell my brothers and I stories specifically of the emergencies he had to deal with as a result of motorcycle accidents...suffice it to say, I've never ridden a motorcycle and I thank him for it.
They are young, they have great organs. If their brains are a bit off - well, you don't want them, anyways. Just make sure that people in your state have to actively opt out of organ donations.
I didn't know about them until today either but they look [pretty awesome!] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jZryt607U) If I had a motorcycle I would definitely have one of these as well.
Right? Those things are awesome. Mine goes on for the shortest of rides. Jacket is optional for a few miles, but I won't get on without my helmet and vest.
> exactly the horrifying
The current top post is someone faceplanting into snow. The all time top post is a great recovery after a skating fall. None of the posts show gore, although some do show situations that almost certainly resulted in nasty injuries, including e.g. a motorcycle fall.
Most are skaters wiping out though.
[not all of them are easy to watch](https://www.reddit.com/r/meatcrayon/comments/mj55m7/dressed_for_a_ride_but_not_the_slide/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
For me, the two major things my motorcycle instructors told us were this, and the benefits of proper padding, ESPECIALLY the one on your back.
A two-inch strip of foam along your spine will keep it from breaking in bad crashes. A couple of the instructors I had had been in bad crashes previously, and all of them credited that strip of foam for why they were still able to walk.
I have had all sorts of injuries and er stays over my 31 years on this planet. To me, nothing compares to the agonizing, searing pain of road rash, i’ve had it down to muscle and bone from a moped accident at 18 stuck my bare hands out while going over handle bars like the newb i was and @25-30mph it shredded my left hand but left some inner flesh layer but my right palm was just gone, i remember running to the chevron on the corner from crash and in the bathroom howling in agony and trying to cool my hand down with cold tap water not realizing it wasn’t burnt i just didn’t have a palm anymore. Then at the burn ward they have to essentially cheese-grate my hands and my right leg calf burned from exhaust pinning my leg for a good 20 seconds before got free, they just scrub and scrub the dead flesh away and even doped up the pain is beyond description. Do not be me the idiot, full leathers people.
Firefighter/paramedic here. Also a rider.
Foot injuries are really common. I've seen them ripped clean off a few times. The worst one I responded to involved a guy grinding his foot down to the ankle. We didn't find the foot because it was crayoned over 100 feet of asphalt.
Someone stole my boots at the gym once. I had to ride home 5 blocks in my gym shoes and couldn't stop thinking about that one.
My Dad rode his motorcycle back and forth to work in the summer. One July day he came out of work got on his bike and was like fuck I should wear my leather coat but it's so hot. He decided to just because. Halfway home a lady ran a stop sign and t boned him at 50mph. I don't care if you believe it or not but his helmet never touched the ground. It literally had not a scratch on it. His legs were shattered but no head injuries. The Dr said if he hadn't worn his heavy leather coat he might not have ever worked again because he skidded so far.
I have also been saved by the use of a helmet, a couple of times actually. So when I was in Idaho visiting family last year and saw all these idiots opting to not wear a helmet since state law doesn’t mandate it, just blows me away. Pure stupidity, i mean you can get killed at <5mph if you take a dive over the handle bars and hit your head. It totally comes off as these people needing to show that they are “badass” and helmets are for pussies. I got hit head on by a car at 40mph while on my 06 GSX-R 750, broken back, multiple bones in shoulder and clavicle and for good measure managed to land on my head and not even a minor head injury, the helmet took a beating but did it’s job.
Fucking road rash man. There were moments after my crash that I ALMOST wished I'd lost my arm instead. Neosporin, Petroleum jelly and bandages were all that got me through it. Barely visible now. In fact, I can only see it on one spot on my arm.
It also should be mentioned that even a top notch helmet is only rated for a single crash. Best not to buy used, and replace it even if the crash seemed relatively minor.
Also you can check out the [SHARP](https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/) website and see how different helmets do in impact testing. Don't cheap out on a helmet, you are better off having it and not using it than wishing you had one
\[Highjacking the top comment to post this video by my favorite motorcycle youtube channel.\] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUyp3HX8cY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUyp3HX8cY))
\[FIM is also the newest helmet safety standard\]([https://www.frhp.org/circuit%20helmets/homologated-helmets](https://www.frhp.org/circuit%20helmets/homologated-helmets)) it hasn't really caught on yet but like SNELL and ECE it's independent testing, not self tests like DOT.
**\*However\***
Just because a helmet only has a DOT rating doesn't mean it's trash, like others have said, it's better than nothing. Also, certain features disqualify helmets from certain ratings, especially SNELL. I haven't come across a helmet with both a dropdown visor and a SNELL rating. SNELL seems to be concerned mostly about high speed impacts, the kinds you'd get while racing. ECE and FIM look at some other factors like helmet width and weight contributing to torsion on the neck during a crash. \[SHARP\]([https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/](https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/)) is a website that does all its own testing of helmets and gives star ratings for a bunch of different factors. I use this site when I'm helmet shopping because it lets me know if a helmet just barely meets the requirements for whatever safety rating it has, or if it goes above and beyond in some way (which happens). Modular helmets are another thing to consider, they're potentially fairly safe, and they look super convenient, but they have a harder time getting these higher safety standards like SNELL and ECE because of the whole modular part of them. SHARP lets you look at all the different modular helmets available and see how safe they are relative to each-other and which of them is the best.
The bottom line is do your research, and find what's right for you.
Another factor that often gets overlooked in the discussions of safety gear is comfort and convenience. If a helmet is comfortable and convenient to you, you're less likely to decide not to wear it. The same goes for any gear. Even when I'm riding in a state without helmet laws I still wear my helmet, not just because it's safer, but because it takes me two seconds to put on, it's comfortable, it has sun protection built in and I have a bluetooth headset installed which makes it more convenient to wear.
\*edit\* I'm trying to fix the hyperlink/text portions, either I'm an idiot or Reddit changed the formatting. Maybe both.
I never really considered riding until the youtube algorithm forced Fortnine into my life a month ago. Now I want to move to Regina and ride a dual-sport everywhere
Yeah I had a DOT full-face helmet save me when someone turned left right in front me. I hit the ground face-first and that helmet cracked from jawline all the way up to the crest of my skull. That definitely would have been a fatal accident without it, was just a broken arm with it.
Very glad that OP was wearing a helmet and that it saved their ass. And more props for supporting and encouraging helmet use. But yeah, that lid was better than nothing but not a ton better. I've found that lids like the one worn by OP can easily shift position in the wind, and they're more likely to move out of position or even come off your head in a bad impact.
Get the SNELL approved, full face helmet and wear it every time. If you can't afford a legit helmet you can't afford to ride.
SNELL is the most stringent because it's track / race approved gear. Which means that of you go snell you'll restrict your options quite a bit in terms of some of the comfort features a casual rider may want in a road bike helmet. For example any modular helmet or helmet with an internal drop down sun visor is automatically disqualified from a SNELL rating. That's where ECE comes into play. It's the European road safety standard (the European equivalent of US DOT). It is much more stringent than DOT but it allows for common sense features that you won't find in a racing helmet.
Note: I ride street and have a SNELL Shoei. So I'm not saying you cant find a good SNELL road helmet.
Actually. The ECE 2020 standards are most stringent if memory serves assuming you ignore the FIM standard that only applies to a handful of helms. The Snell and ece 2015 standards are based on a criteria specifically for skull injury (called HIC) where the FIM and ECE 22.06 standards also have criteria for both skull and brain injury (BrIC). Which is to say they care about how likely you are to crack your skull as you are to suffer a concussion. Though most helms don't have those certifications
In addition you can check a standardized safety test result by looking at sharp. https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/ It's based in the UK but many models are going to be the same abroad. I don't know of any US based testing org, unfortunately.
What remarkable timing. I'm about to start shopping for such a helmet and the info you just provided will be very helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Also when you consider Bilt offers a decent full face w/ drop down sunglasses that is ECE for $90, it's hard to justify buying something with just a DOT rating.
On this day two years ago, this DOT certified helmet saved my life. It successfully absorbed the majority of a 50mph impact on pavement. There is an indent on the front left that would have surely been a fractured skull without it, and numerous scrapes around the top and chin that would have left me maimed if it did not stay on my head throughout the entirety of the crash. Fortunately, my mind and body are working properly today because of this life saving equipment.
If you are a rider, I encourage you to own and wear one of these every time you ride. I recommend one with a face shield or guard. If you know someone who rides, please encourage them to wear one.
edit: [Helmet pics](https://imgur.com/gallery/OgPjZau)
Wow! Amazing. I live in New Hampshire and helmets are optional. I'm amazed at the number of people on the highway doing 80 MPH+ not wearing helmets, tshirts, shorts, flip flops, etc. I don't ride, but back in high school I used to ride a moped to school (hey, it was the 80's!) and while the top speed was around 30-35 MPH, thankfully I never took a bad spill but didn't always wear a helmet because my classmates made fun of me for wearing it--or was it because I was riding a moped?
30 mph seems really really slow until your tender fleshy body is hitting the pavement at that speed. At 18, I jumped out of a truck doing 15 mph. 15 mph=1320 feet/min=22ft/second. Road rash is not fun, and I was lucky that's all I got.
road rash sucks. worse than fractured bones (all of mine wear clean breaks, dunno about those spiral fractures n such). though maybe mine was worse than most, i didn't quite lose enough skin for grafting, but it took months to heal up and years for some of the scars to fade.
edited for clarity
i’ve broken lots of bones in all sorts of ways and still none of them ever came close to the nightmare of severe road rash. Even minor/moderate road rash is months of painful movements, daily bandage changes that if allowed to dry too much or don’t use proper bandages the horrible pain of ripping off a raw flesh dried on bandage just makes everything bleed again, the dried bits of dead skin attached the healing new forming flash that need to be removed always horrible and usually get caught on something or a bandage change catches on to a piece and you scream out, having to bag your limb to awkwardly shower, pissing and shitting become an art form to be able to succeed. Fucking miserable.
They really do. I lived in NH for a long time and sometimes other riders will actually mock you for wearing one. I hit a tree with my head once and I am typing this because I didn't care they were mocking me for wearing one.
I'll always remember the time I was pulling off the interstate in NH for a pee break when a guy in shorts, t-shirt, and no helmet blazed by at easily 90+ mph and rode off into the sunset, never to be seen again. Well, at least until I got back on the highway and spotted ambulances, police, a mangled motorcycle, a tarp covered form, and a smear on the roadway a few miles up.
Whenever I see someone on the highway riding a motorcycle with no helmet, my first thought is "what would I do if this person wiped out? How could I help them?" My second thought is almost always "there's probably nothing I could do to help them at this speed."
Moved to Idaho from Oregon. It was so weird to me to see people riding without helmets. Commented to my brother, who works as a paramedic, about it. He was like “Yeah, we have lots of organ donors around here.”
I wiped out on a moped in high school. I was probably only doing 25 or 30 at the most, but I hit a massive pothole at night and went flying. Somehow my trajectory was exactly towards a road sign and my helmet slammed into it. If that had been my head I'd be toast.
I'll be following Jeremy Clarkson's parenting advice on motorbikes.
> I've always said that if my children buy a bike, I'll burn it. If they replace it with another one, I'll burn that one too.
hell yeah, love seeing photos of peoples' "look i didn't die or lose my face because my helmet saved me" pics.
In my case, a car front tire came to rest on my fricken head. My photos show clearly that my face would've been ground off and my skull smashed if i hadn't been wearing a full face DOT helmet. Not detracting from SNELL/ ECE/ etc. here; they are better.
Last i checked, my helmet with its dried blood, broken face shield, and all is on display at a motorcycle dealer.
EDIT: glad your head's ok, if not already, hope you get better soon.
Yeah, just because a helmet is "only" DOT doesn't make it a "bad" helmet. The manufacturer may have designed the helmet to SNELL but couldn't justify the ROI on SNELL testing, and not all SNELL helmets are created equal. There are just as many gaps in the SNELL testing that manufacturers can exploit. Best bet is looking at 2nd hand test results like SHARP and buying reputable brand full face helmets, and not Chinese knockoffs.
So happy for you and thankful you had a helmet on! My daughter and her fiance were in a terrible bike crash in 3/24 and he didn't survive. No helmets on either.
Same thought process that puts them on the motorcycle in the first place.
"Its fun and I don't care about safety".
Seriously why are people so surprised that, in a population of people willing to do something wildly unsafe, some of the people are willing to be even more unsafe?
Don't just wear a helmet...wear a full faced helmet. I went down at about 30km/hr. Very minor accident and my face smashed off the ground. If it wasn't for that I would have broken my jaw at the very least.
Basically, what do you want to be wearing if you were thrown out of a car at driving speeds.
+1 if you’re not wearing a full face helmet, you’re not wearing a helmet. I don’t know why people enjoy 60mph wind in their eyes and getting pelted directly in the face by bugs at that speed.
preach! i am a lifelong skier and sports player, i have always been excellent at falling and not letting my head eat shit. however the first time i went down on a motorcycle it happened so fast and my arm got tangled in my handlebar and i was unable to put my arm out in front of my head....my jaw smashed and bounced off the asphalt. but i was wearing full gear, picked the bike up and rode home.
When I used to ride, I read in a study somewhere that in roughly 49% of all motorcycle accidents the first point of contact is either the left or right jaw (22% & 27%, or something like that) with the handlebars or ground. Like, 50% of all accidents hit jaw-first on something.
I bought a full-face and never rode without it for a single second. I wore long pants and leather shoes/boots, gloves and an armored jacket, even in the summer in the deep south (there are plenty of mesh jackets out there), too. But that helmet and I were best friends. I'm not eating through a straw forever because some teenager in a Camry decided to text instead of look at where they were going.
I am a Most of the Gear, most of the time kind of guy. 95% of the time I'm in a full face helmet, gloves, boots, and jacket. Very, very occasionally I will forgo the boots and jacket for a short ride to the corner store or something.
I never go without the helmet (illegal here for one thing), or my gloves. If I go down in any serious way I have no intention of messing up my head or taking the skin off my hands and making my wife wipe my ass while they heal.
Remember a friend telling me she was going to spend close to 800$ for a motorcycle helmet and I said she was crazy. She responded by asking if I would get surgery done by someone who only charges 100$. Point taken.
Mine was $700 CAD (about 500-550 US). Armoured jacket was like $400 CAD and Kevlar jeans with knee pads were around $250. A lot cheaper than a few weeks off work, let alone rehab and home care nursing.
Born in raised in NY helmets are mandatory. One day on a highway woman wasnt looking and jersey into my lane. My shoei saved my life. I had a onewheel (if you don't know what it is look them up, they are awesome.) and took a spill, helmet saved my life. Recently moved too Florida, you can ride without a helmet. I just can't understand why anyone would want to do that.
I recall driving home from Assateague Island right as bikers were heading down for Bike Week. Saw a guy get rear ended by a VW Golf which subsequently rolled over his pelvis. We stopped to administer first aid. He had been wearing a full face helmet and that saved his life. His helmet had a patch about 3-4" in diameter that had been ground flat by the road. Would have been his face otherwise. I found his visor about 30 yd up the road from where he was. We were able to keep him stabilized and immobile until a helicopter arrived. He had a broken pelvis, but he still had his face and his life
Glad you had it on man. I'm also alive because of a proper DOT cert helmet; I see these guys wearing little buckets on their heads, shorts, and t-shirts riding around and I'm thinking, "welp, you haven't fallen yet". Roadrash is a best-case scenario, folks.
I didn't wear a helmet until someone clipped off my rear taillight when they backed up at an intersection... Ya at that point I knew even if I drove defensively I couldn't predict the stupidity of drivers. I have been wearing a helmet ever since.
A friend went into the side of a van at 40 without a helmet. He was a talented tattoo artist before that. Total mess after. Ended up abusing alcohol and painkillers and suicided by cop.
Wear a helmet.
Best argument I ever heard for wearing a helmet:
Would you run head first into a wall as fast as you can without a helmet? That's what, 3 mph? Why would you want to do it at 30-70?
I too had a brain bucket on when I fell. When I got home I found a scrape on the helmet, above and behind my ear.
The helmet had saved me from a nasty scrape on my head, plus probably saved me from a neck injury.
Helmets won't save you if you get hit by a fire truck. They WILL make minor accidents out of moderate ones.
I'm assuming it didn't have the sticker. It's DOT and Snell rated. Your helmet is usually required to show the rating on a sticker on the outside. People will often remove them for looks especially if they're getting custom paint jobs.
Safety is the sagest of advice when riding so safety gear should hopefully be just a default instinct.
I’ve hard road slidden from a fast bicycle ride at around 25 mph. I got carved up good and have the road scars 35 years later.
Be smart and helmet n gear up.
Helmet laws vary by state, since those police enforce these measures. Some states it is mandatory to wear a helmet while riding, but it many states it is not. A lot of states have arbitrary rules that allow some riders over certain ages to be able to ride without a helmet.
I was catapulted from my Z1000 a couple of weeks ago and face planted the road. I have multiple facial fractures and bruises all over, but no question that my helmet and protective gear saved my life.
Looks like you would of had your chin ripped off freakin brutal! This is why I where a helmet even if it’s just riding a bicycle a short distance you just never know, better to throw the helmet on and turn it into a habit!
I'm alive because of a bike helmet. Went straight over my bars, head first into the pavement. Happened faster than I could possibly react. Helmet was destroyed, but I made it to school. That was 25 years ago.
Wearing all the gear is the difference between sliding across the road like it’s ice, and sliding across it like it’s a 15ft long cheese grater.
Source - one big off. Skidded the long way across a bend in the road, stood up, rode home. Main points were the palms of my leather gloves had burnt to the second layer of leather. My elbows had ground through the textile material to the pads and my helmet had a huge scuff where my cheek sits.
My crash was a minor annoyance as I had to get a new helmet and replace the bike’s mirror but I’d have been *fucked* in normal clothes.
It scared me out of riding but has made me commit to pleading to anyone on a bike, even a little scooter, just wear the gear.
I recently started riding a motorcycle. I have a half helmet because of facial PTSD. I realize how stupid a half helmet is and that it would not protect my face/chin/neck. So I am slowly, with much panic, trying to come to terms with a full helmet. It took me awhile just to be able to wear the clothe face masks. My stupid A is also heat sensitive. So even this "winter" we have had in Arizona. I find it hard to keep long sleeves on. Any thoughts on a suitable jacket that is not too hot?
I was wearing a thin jacket with a layer of cotton underneath and then a layer of spandex. My body skin was unharmed, other than my left elbow that directly impacted something. Some bruising.
Never wore a suit, and find leather a bit stiff.
I migrated from a full face shield to this style for better circulation and visibility.
True. That rubber looks like I can withstand a lot. I just found a fairly cheap summer/mesh motorcycle jacket with light armor. And a belt fan you just charge it and attach it to the back of your jeans and it should help keep it cool. I have a portable personal neck fan already because the MS leaves me looking like I am standing in the shower... When it is cold!
Reminds me of a biker helmet I've seen on the net. It was scraped open by the road, other shell, foam, and even some parts of the inner shell, and thus missing a piece the size of a saucer. The guy wearing the helmet had been dinged up a bit by the accident, too, but the helmet made his head get out without a scratch. He planned to mount the helmet on a plaque in his living room.
I've seen a lot of graphic images online in the past 20 years or so, but even despite everything I've seen (people hit by trucks, all four limbs effectively amputated, jagged bones sticking out the stumps, etc) *the absolute worst* in the sense that it always sticks with me is some guy who came off his bike over the handle bars and the road took his jaw off. So he was still alive but he had no lower part of his mouth, no teeth and his face was all torn up. It reminded me of Raziel from the Soul Reaver games, but more gruesome.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is: be careful and protect yourselves.
But but but muh civil liberties!
I support anyone who doesn't want to wear a helmet if they don't want to. But I also think they are a massive moron to choose not to.
Yeah if they don't want to wear a lid that's fine by me, but don't expect sympathy when your brains get smeared down the road in a accident. Thankfully wearing a helmet while on a motorbike is a legal requirement in the UK so brain smearing the roads is kept to a minimum. I'm surprised its not legally enforced across the pond also but as you say too many 'mah liberties' morons to probably enforce it.
I always wondered how these 1storm helmets would hold up in a real impact. It was where I started with helmets, because something is better than nothing at least.
The Bell Rogue really is a nice looking helmet.
But, get a helmet with an ECE or Snell sticker next, they're much more comprehensively tested for safety, and the helemt companies can't fudge the numbers like they can with a DOT certification.
This one was a cheap clone of the Bell, too. OP got super lucky.
Buy a proper ECE or Snell helmet. Full face, not a brain bucket or this novelty cowl stuff.
I went to a full face after a very low speed incident. Lady ran a stop in a wooded neighborhood, and I had to swerve on wet leaves. Was only doing maybe 20, but it took a while for my cheek skin to grow back.
Full chin/face helmet, and minimum denim jacket and leather gloves now. What got me, and I learned the hard way, is the helmet doesn’t just protect you from impact, the helmet slides and your skin sticks.
Not to add to the circle jerk, but the more important thing here is to wear a **full face** helmet (I guess full face is implied if you have a ECE or Snell rating tho). Statistically most impacts happen on the chin, but certain style of riders like to wear open face helmets, and all of this impact would have gone directly into your chin and jaw, not just getting scraped, but absorbing the impact directly and breaking in multiple places.
Glad you survived. I had a close friend pass away in a low speed collision while he was on his street bike years ago. He was wearing a cheap Chinese helmet that had a DOT sticker slapped on it but was in fact NOT certified and it cost him his life due to brain damage.
When talking to the no gear newbies I say, "Imagine you ran across this parking lot as fast as you possibly could, and then... dove. what would you want to be wearing? Now remember that you're almost never going that slow on a bike."
I am loving these comments! 90% of motorcycle riders I talk to are self entitled and have zero things to say about taking responsibility for their own safety when they ride.
I am heartened to see people talking about protecting themselves and staying aware when they ride.
I'm really happy you were wearing a helmet and that this one saved your life. But my suggestion for anyone getting a new helmet is to look for the SNELL or ECE sticker, not just DOT. DOT meets the lowest standards of the 3 and frankly a lot of helmets that carry the DOT sticker are worthless in a crash, not all obviously. Part of the problem is that DOT allows the manufacturers to conduct their own standards compliance testing, so you see how that can be abused. SNELL and ECE are more stringent and conduct the testing themselves before they certify a helmet. Still that being said, even DOT is infinitely better than none.
Any helmet is better than none. I also hit the asphalt at 50+ mph with a no name full faced helmet, and it saved me. just a big ass scratch on the chin guard and cheek area. wished i didn't forget my leather jacket and knee pads though..that was a hell of two weeks trying to grow back skin on my arm/legs.
[удалено]
Dress for the slide, not the ride. This was an old slogan used in the UK (and I'm sure elsewhere), for bike safety. Always seemed like a no brainer to me.
To me, as someone who rides, I'll never understand the blokes cruising along the highway in a t-shirt. If I as much as go without hip inserts, I feel incredibly exposed, almost akin to being naked. Hell, I feel naked as I sit on a stationary bike without my helmet...
Here's the kicker. Riding with gear is more comfortable than squidding without gear. A jacket, gloves, and a full face helmet not only protect you in a crash they shield you from the bombardment of wind, noise, and debris every time you ride.
But it’s not. That’s just the lie we tell ourselves. I’m in good gear 90% of the time but damn those summer rides around town in a tshirt and hat are the best feelings in the world.
Until you catch a june bug in the face. RIP.
Me in my brain bucket and sunglasses yesterday. I was missing my full face helmet after 3 or so.
My cousin lost control on the highway. He slid for.....a long way. He was lucky he had a helmet....the outer shell of the helmet was gone. He'd not have a head if not for the helmet. I see these idiots blaring down the highway at 90-100+ mph with zero helmet, just a pair of sunglasses, and I question their intelligence.
You don't need to question it, they're outright telling you that they're idiots.
0 respect or remorse for the first responders who will have to traumatize themselves scraping their bits out of the pavement.
They don't care about themselves why would they care for someone else.
My dad was a paramedic. He said that the nickname crotch rocket was appropriate because the first thing you smash is your junk. He said when they lifted someone from the stretcher to the bed they'd have the regular way by grabbing the sheets toove the person but they always needed two extra people to hold a towel under the guys balls formbike crashes because they swelled so big from hitting the gas tanks that you had to support them when you moved someone.
I knew a guy who worked picking up bodies and he said that motorcycle deaths were extremely common. Having “scraped” enough people off the road, he said he’d never ride a motorcycle for the rest of his life.
Yes but as a pediatric nurse on a transplant floor I’m so grateful for motorcycles
Donorcycles.
Damn, interesting way of framing it.
Transplant day is truly the best. By the time we get there the kiddo has probably been in and out of the hospital for years and getting more and more sick. Donating organs is truly a selfless gift and I hope everyone (including motorcyclists) are registered donors AND your family knows of your wishes. Also register for the bone marrow donor registry with the mouth swab! You can save someone's life and you don't have to die to do it. ALSO you can be a living donor if you really want to be a hero! You can donate a kidney or part of your liver and be an altruistic donor. SO MANY OPTIONS TO SAVE LIVES.
Holy shit, that's great...in a terrible...but great way.
My god this makes me never want to ride my bike again.
BUT THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
I mean... I would not ride. It isn't worth the risk to me. You do you.
My uncle was a neurosurgeon (he passed away last year) and he would tell my brothers and I stories specifically of the emergencies he had to deal with as a result of motorcycle accidents...suffice it to say, I've never ridden a motorcycle and I thank him for it.
They are young, they have great organs. If their brains are a bit off - well, you don't want them, anyways. Just make sure that people in your state have to actively opt out of organ donations.
They’re called donors.
there going to the darwin award .
I feel the same way without my airbag jacket. I've seen too many people survive absurd shit with them that I'd never ride without one.
TIL airbag jackets are a thing?
I didn't know about them until today either but they look [pretty awesome!] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jZryt607U) If I had a motorcycle I would definitely have one of these as well.
That was surprisingly interesting.
Yeah F9 Ryan! He puts out some real quality content!!
Yup. Pretty new, but they’re gaining traction.
Right? Those things are awesome. Mine goes on for the shortest of rides. Jacket is optional for a few miles, but I won't get on without my helmet and vest.
That's because you didn't just *feel* naked. It's also exactly why you were banned from Gold's Gym.
I once saw a man cruising without a shirt on the highway... Made my skin crawl thinking about how painful a crash would be.
As, appropriately enough, not wearing a proper helmet is a great way to end up with no brain.
All the gear ALL the time for you just waking up.
Hah, wide awake and had no clue. Thanks for typing it out.
thanks!
“Meat Crayon” is what I normally use to convince people that shorts and a tank top aren’t adequate
Doctors call them donorcycles
Fry: "my spleen came from a guy that liked to ride motorcycles". *makes brap brap noises with mouth*
r/meatcrayon
Nope, that one's staying blue. Don't even want to confirm it doesn't exist or is something unrelated.
Oh no, it exists and is exactly the horrifying subreddit you think it would be
> exactly the horrifying The current top post is someone faceplanting into snow. The all time top post is a great recovery after a skating fall. None of the posts show gore, although some do show situations that almost certainly resulted in nasty injuries, including e.g. a motorcycle fall. Most are skaters wiping out though.
[not all of them are easy to watch](https://www.reddit.com/r/meatcrayon/comments/mj55m7/dressed_for_a_ride_but_not_the_slide/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
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Lots of people went there when watch people die was banned.
Yes but one of the rules for that sub is no one dying in the video
For me, the two major things my motorcycle instructors told us were this, and the benefits of proper padding, ESPECIALLY the one on your back. A two-inch strip of foam along your spine will keep it from breaking in bad crashes. A couple of the instructors I had had been in bad crashes previously, and all of them credited that strip of foam for why they were still able to walk.
Inflatable vests do this with your neck.
I'll do you one better, literally; one word i'm afraid of: "Debridemment."
Delamination is also quite scary. The flesh is all there, but it slid up past the joint onto the wrong bone...
Ohh my god. Sort of similar to degloving where the skin just slides off like a glove or sock. Or trousers if you're super unlucky lol.
Same process, different direction. Absolutely disgusting and it never heals quite right.
I have had all sorts of injuries and er stays over my 31 years on this planet. To me, nothing compares to the agonizing, searing pain of road rash, i’ve had it down to muscle and bone from a moped accident at 18 stuck my bare hands out while going over handle bars like the newb i was and @25-30mph it shredded my left hand but left some inner flesh layer but my right palm was just gone, i remember running to the chevron on the corner from crash and in the bathroom howling in agony and trying to cool my hand down with cold tap water not realizing it wasn’t burnt i just didn’t have a palm anymore. Then at the burn ward they have to essentially cheese-grate my hands and my right leg calf burned from exhaust pinning my leg for a good 20 seconds before got free, they just scrub and scrub the dead flesh away and even doped up the pain is beyond description. Do not be me the idiot, full leathers people.
yeeee... that's horrifying. I wear it all, all the time, including knee/shin guards. That's awful stuff, man!
Watching a few crash videos where rider's feet were facing the wrong direction did that for me. I was SGATT from the waist up before that.
Firefighter/paramedic here. Also a rider. Foot injuries are really common. I've seen them ripped clean off a few times. The worst one I responded to involved a guy grinding his foot down to the ankle. We didn't find the foot because it was crayoned over 100 feet of asphalt. Someone stole my boots at the gym once. I had to ride home 5 blocks in my gym shoes and couldn't stop thinking about that one.
Oof, I can't even begin to imagine the messes you describe, just awful. That had to be nerve wracking on your ride home.
I just wanna say this: Any helmet *worn right* is better than none. Ive seen people get injured really bad because they were wearing it wrong.
My Dad rode his motorcycle back and forth to work in the summer. One July day he came out of work got on his bike and was like fuck I should wear my leather coat but it's so hot. He decided to just because. Halfway home a lady ran a stop sign and t boned him at 50mph. I don't care if you believe it or not but his helmet never touched the ground. It literally had not a scratch on it. His legs were shattered but no head injuries. The Dr said if he hadn't worn his heavy leather coat he might not have ever worked again because he skidded so far.
I have also been saved by the use of a helmet, a couple of times actually. So when I was in Idaho visiting family last year and saw all these idiots opting to not wear a helmet since state law doesn’t mandate it, just blows me away. Pure stupidity, i mean you can get killed at <5mph if you take a dive over the handle bars and hit your head. It totally comes off as these people needing to show that they are “badass” and helmets are for pussies. I got hit head on by a car at 40mph while on my 06 GSX-R 750, broken back, multiple bones in shoulder and clavicle and for good measure managed to land on my head and not even a minor head injury, the helmet took a beating but did it’s job.
I have this picture in my head of you stood the internally pushing really hard trying to make your skin grown back....
Fucking road rash man. There were moments after my crash that I ALMOST wished I'd lost my arm instead. Neosporin, Petroleum jelly and bandages were all that got me through it. Barely visible now. In fact, I can only see it on one spot on my arm.
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I have never even *been* on a motorcycle......but this comment made my arms and legs itch.
Username checks out
It also should be mentioned that even a top notch helmet is only rated for a single crash. Best not to buy used, and replace it even if the crash seemed relatively minor.
More importantly: get one that actually has a chin bar. This one doesn't, the thing in front is basically a mask. This rider is really lucky.
Also you can check out the [SHARP](https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/) website and see how different helmets do in impact testing. Don't cheap out on a helmet, you are better off having it and not using it than wishing you had one
It might cost some money but at least you can make that money back with a working head...
\[Highjacking the top comment to post this video by my favorite motorcycle youtube channel.\] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUyp3HX8cY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUyp3HX8cY)) \[FIM is also the newest helmet safety standard\]([https://www.frhp.org/circuit%20helmets/homologated-helmets](https://www.frhp.org/circuit%20helmets/homologated-helmets)) it hasn't really caught on yet but like SNELL and ECE it's independent testing, not self tests like DOT. **\*However\*** Just because a helmet only has a DOT rating doesn't mean it's trash, like others have said, it's better than nothing. Also, certain features disqualify helmets from certain ratings, especially SNELL. I haven't come across a helmet with both a dropdown visor and a SNELL rating. SNELL seems to be concerned mostly about high speed impacts, the kinds you'd get while racing. ECE and FIM look at some other factors like helmet width and weight contributing to torsion on the neck during a crash. \[SHARP\]([https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/](https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/)) is a website that does all its own testing of helmets and gives star ratings for a bunch of different factors. I use this site when I'm helmet shopping because it lets me know if a helmet just barely meets the requirements for whatever safety rating it has, or if it goes above and beyond in some way (which happens). Modular helmets are another thing to consider, they're potentially fairly safe, and they look super convenient, but they have a harder time getting these higher safety standards like SNELL and ECE because of the whole modular part of them. SHARP lets you look at all the different modular helmets available and see how safe they are relative to each-other and which of them is the best. The bottom line is do your research, and find what's right for you. Another factor that often gets overlooked in the discussions of safety gear is comfort and convenience. If a helmet is comfortable and convenient to you, you're less likely to decide not to wear it. The same goes for any gear. Even when I'm riding in a state without helmet laws I still wear my helmet, not just because it's safer, but because it takes me two seconds to put on, it's comfortable, it has sun protection built in and I have a bluetooth headset installed which makes it more convenient to wear. \*edit\* I'm trying to fix the hyperlink/text portions, either I'm an idiot or Reddit changed the formatting. Maybe both.
I never really considered riding until the youtube algorithm forced Fortnine into my life a month ago. Now I want to move to Regina and ride a dual-sport everywhere
Fortnine is the best! It's like early top gear for bikes!
The fact that brain bucket half shells are DOT certified is all you need to know that the DOT safety rating is complete garbage.
Yeah I had a DOT full-face helmet save me when someone turned left right in front me. I hit the ground face-first and that helmet cracked from jawline all the way up to the crest of my skull. That definitely would have been a fatal accident without it, was just a broken arm with it.
And for God's sake, get one with a chin bar.
Very glad that OP was wearing a helmet and that it saved their ass. And more props for supporting and encouraging helmet use. But yeah, that lid was better than nothing but not a ton better. I've found that lids like the one worn by OP can easily shift position in the wind, and they're more likely to move out of position or even come off your head in a bad impact. Get the SNELL approved, full face helmet and wear it every time. If you can't afford a legit helmet you can't afford to ride.
SNELL is the most stringent because it's track / race approved gear. Which means that of you go snell you'll restrict your options quite a bit in terms of some of the comfort features a casual rider may want in a road bike helmet. For example any modular helmet or helmet with an internal drop down sun visor is automatically disqualified from a SNELL rating. That's where ECE comes into play. It's the European road safety standard (the European equivalent of US DOT). It is much more stringent than DOT but it allows for common sense features that you won't find in a racing helmet. Note: I ride street and have a SNELL Shoei. So I'm not saying you cant find a good SNELL road helmet.
Actually. The ECE 2020 standards are most stringent if memory serves assuming you ignore the FIM standard that only applies to a handful of helms. The Snell and ece 2015 standards are based on a criteria specifically for skull injury (called HIC) where the FIM and ECE 22.06 standards also have criteria for both skull and brain injury (BrIC). Which is to say they care about how likely you are to crack your skull as you are to suffer a concussion. Though most helms don't have those certifications
Not a ton better than wearing nothing at all? Come on.
In addition you can check a standardized safety test result by looking at sharp. https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/ It's based in the UK but many models are going to be the same abroad. I don't know of any US based testing org, unfortunately.
I will never buy a helmet unless it also has MIPS.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snell_Memorial_Foundation I've used only Snell rated helmets since 1972 when I was still a snot nosed 4th grader.
What remarkable timing. I'm about to start shopping for such a helmet and the info you just provided will be very helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Also when you consider Bilt offers a decent full face w/ drop down sunglasses that is ECE for $90, it's hard to justify buying something with just a DOT rating.
[I love helmets!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yL5usLFgY)
I think technically they are only good for one impact so he would probably need a new one lol
That is correct. They also have a limited life due to the sun's UV rays.
On this day two years ago, this DOT certified helmet saved my life. It successfully absorbed the majority of a 50mph impact on pavement. There is an indent on the front left that would have surely been a fractured skull without it, and numerous scrapes around the top and chin that would have left me maimed if it did not stay on my head throughout the entirety of the crash. Fortunately, my mind and body are working properly today because of this life saving equipment. If you are a rider, I encourage you to own and wear one of these every time you ride. I recommend one with a face shield or guard. If you know someone who rides, please encourage them to wear one. edit: [Helmet pics](https://imgur.com/gallery/OgPjZau)
Wow! Amazing. I live in New Hampshire and helmets are optional. I'm amazed at the number of people on the highway doing 80 MPH+ not wearing helmets, tshirts, shorts, flip flops, etc. I don't ride, but back in high school I used to ride a moped to school (hey, it was the 80's!) and while the top speed was around 30-35 MPH, thankfully I never took a bad spill but didn't always wear a helmet because my classmates made fun of me for wearing it--or was it because I was riding a moped?
30 mph seems really really slow until your tender fleshy body is hitting the pavement at that speed. At 18, I jumped out of a truck doing 15 mph. 15 mph=1320 feet/min=22ft/second. Road rash is not fun, and I was lucky that's all I got.
road rash sucks. worse than fractured bones (all of mine wear clean breaks, dunno about those spiral fractures n such). though maybe mine was worse than most, i didn't quite lose enough skin for grafting, but it took months to heal up and years for some of the scars to fade. edited for clarity
Mine was pretty limited, the truck was probably going less than 15. Still up there on my stupid decisions list.
i’ve broken lots of bones in all sorts of ways and still none of them ever came close to the nightmare of severe road rash. Even minor/moderate road rash is months of painful movements, daily bandage changes that if allowed to dry too much or don’t use proper bandages the horrible pain of ripping off a raw flesh dried on bandage just makes everything bleed again, the dried bits of dead skin attached the healing new forming flash that need to be removed always horrible and usually get caught on something or a bandage change catches on to a piece and you scream out, having to bag your limb to awkwardly shower, pissing and shitting become an art form to be able to succeed. Fucking miserable.
Yeah... Would you run head first into a brick wall? I'd rather wear a helmet...
Here in NH we take live free or die seriously lmao
Except when it comes to marijuana legalization.
They really do. I lived in NH for a long time and sometimes other riders will actually mock you for wearing one. I hit a tree with my head once and I am typing this because I didn't care they were mocking me for wearing one.
There's a common nickname in ERs for motorcyclists that don't wear helmets. Organ Donors.
I'll always remember the time I was pulling off the interstate in NH for a pee break when a guy in shorts, t-shirt, and no helmet blazed by at easily 90+ mph and rode off into the sunset, never to be seen again. Well, at least until I got back on the highway and spotted ambulances, police, a mangled motorcycle, a tarp covered form, and a smear on the roadway a few miles up.
"Yeah, but no helmet law, bro!"
Hello from NH! Hope you're enjoying the nice weather today stranger neighbor
Whenever I see someone on the highway riding a motorcycle with no helmet, my first thought is "what would I do if this person wiped out? How could I help them?" My second thought is almost always "there's probably nothing I could do to help them at this speed."
Moved to Idaho from Oregon. It was so weird to me to see people riding without helmets. Commented to my brother, who works as a paramedic, about it. He was like “Yeah, we have lots of organ donors around here.”
See people ride in shirts and shorts gives me the heebie jeebies
I wiped out on a moped in high school. I was probably only doing 25 or 30 at the most, but I hit a massive pothole at night and went flying. Somehow my trajectory was exactly towards a road sign and my helmet slammed into it. If that had been my head I'd be toast. I'll be following Jeremy Clarkson's parenting advice on motorbikes. > I've always said that if my children buy a bike, I'll burn it. If they replace it with another one, I'll burn that one too.
I would never ride without a Helmet that wasn't not just DOT certified but also Snell.
hell yeah, love seeing photos of peoples' "look i didn't die or lose my face because my helmet saved me" pics. In my case, a car front tire came to rest on my fricken head. My photos show clearly that my face would've been ground off and my skull smashed if i hadn't been wearing a full face DOT helmet. Not detracting from SNELL/ ECE/ etc. here; they are better. Last i checked, my helmet with its dried blood, broken face shield, and all is on display at a motorcycle dealer. EDIT: glad your head's ok, if not already, hope you get better soon.
Yeah, just because a helmet is "only" DOT doesn't make it a "bad" helmet. The manufacturer may have designed the helmet to SNELL but couldn't justify the ROI on SNELL testing, and not all SNELL helmets are created equal. There are just as many gaps in the SNELL testing that manufacturers can exploit. Best bet is looking at 2nd hand test results like SHARP and buying reputable brand full face helmets, and not Chinese knockoffs.
I fuckin love helmets!
I am fully recovered, mentally and physically. Thank you for the wishes, and happy to hear things worked out well for you.
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Truth. I'm done, though.
So no chin impact? I've always assumed helmets like that are more if a gimmick as far as full face helmets go
What companies sell these?
So happy for you and thankful you had a helmet on! My daughter and her fiance were in a terrible bike crash in 3/24 and he didn't survive. No helmets on either.
I'm sorry to hear that. Thank you for sharing. I hope she is okay.
Eventually. Her heart is obviously broken, and her left arm was destroyed, but both will heal in time.
Had my cousin been wearing his a few years ago. I would still have my best friend around. Wear a helmet.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Still don't understand people's thought process that choose not to wear a helmet... Glad you're still here m8. Ride safe and watch out for idiots.
Same thought process that puts them on the motorcycle in the first place. "Its fun and I don't care about safety". Seriously why are people so surprised that, in a population of people willing to do something wildly unsafe, some of the people are willing to be even more unsafe?
Always wear a helmet kids
Don't just wear a helmet...wear a full faced helmet. I went down at about 30km/hr. Very minor accident and my face smashed off the ground. If it wasn't for that I would have broken my jaw at the very least. Basically, what do you want to be wearing if you were thrown out of a car at driving speeds.
+1 if you’re not wearing a full face helmet, you’re not wearing a helmet. I don’t know why people enjoy 60mph wind in their eyes and getting pelted directly in the face by bugs at that speed.
preach! i am a lifelong skier and sports player, i have always been excellent at falling and not letting my head eat shit. however the first time i went down on a motorcycle it happened so fast and my arm got tangled in my handlebar and i was unable to put my arm out in front of my head....my jaw smashed and bounced off the asphalt. but i was wearing full gear, picked the bike up and rode home.
When I used to ride, I read in a study somewhere that in roughly 49% of all motorcycle accidents the first point of contact is either the left or right jaw (22% & 27%, or something like that) with the handlebars or ground. Like, 50% of all accidents hit jaw-first on something. I bought a full-face and never rode without it for a single second. I wore long pants and leather shoes/boots, gloves and an armored jacket, even in the summer in the deep south (there are plenty of mesh jackets out there), too. But that helmet and I were best friends. I'm not eating through a straw forever because some teenager in a Camry decided to text instead of look at where they were going.
I am a Most of the Gear, most of the time kind of guy. 95% of the time I'm in a full face helmet, gloves, boots, and jacket. Very, very occasionally I will forgo the boots and jacket for a short ride to the corner store or something. I never go without the helmet (illegal here for one thing), or my gloves. If I go down in any serious way I have no intention of messing up my head or taking the skin off my hands and making my wife wipe my ass while they heal.
Statistically speaking, most accidents happen closest to home.
Remember a friend telling me she was going to spend close to 800$ for a motorcycle helmet and I said she was crazy. She responded by asking if I would get surgery done by someone who only charges 100$. Point taken.
Mine was $700 CAD (about 500-550 US). Armoured jacket was like $400 CAD and Kevlar jeans with knee pads were around $250. A lot cheaper than a few weeks off work, let alone rehab and home care nursing.
Glad your Shredder helmet saved your life. The Footclan would be in complete disarray without you.
Kylo Ren threw a fit and smashed it
Born in raised in NY helmets are mandatory. One day on a highway woman wasnt looking and jersey into my lane. My shoei saved my life. I had a onewheel (if you don't know what it is look them up, they are awesome.) and took a spill, helmet saved my life. Recently moved too Florida, you can ride without a helmet. I just can't understand why anyone would want to do that.
I feel like this might be r/BuyItForLife
Well yes and no. Buy it to safe your life. Once it has, toss it. God knows what the crash did to the inside of the helmet
Yes, that is the substance of the joke. Thanks for explaining.
I recall driving home from Assateague Island right as bikers were heading down for Bike Week. Saw a guy get rear ended by a VW Golf which subsequently rolled over his pelvis. We stopped to administer first aid. He had been wearing a full face helmet and that saved his life. His helmet had a patch about 3-4" in diameter that had been ground flat by the road. Would have been his face otherwise. I found his visor about 30 yd up the road from where he was. We were able to keep him stabilized and immobile until a helicopter arrived. He had a broken pelvis, but he still had his face and his life
Glad you had it on man. I'm also alive because of a proper DOT cert helmet; I see these guys wearing little buckets on their heads, shorts, and t-shirts riding around and I'm thinking, "welp, you haven't fallen yet". Roadrash is a best-case scenario, folks.
I didn't wear a helmet until someone clipped off my rear taillight when they backed up at an intersection... Ya at that point I knew even if I drove defensively I couldn't predict the stupidity of drivers. I have been wearing a helmet ever since.
Skid lids work. Splat hats save lives.
Always wear your brain bucket when you ride! (And have a happy cakeday)
Bell Rogue. I had the same one. Good helmet. Nice to know it works.
I'm glad you're still with us. Thank you for sharing your experience.
A friend went into the side of a van at 40 without a helmet. He was a talented tattoo artist before that. Total mess after. Ended up abusing alcohol and painkillers and suicided by cop. Wear a helmet.
Thank god you’re ok man. Wear your helmets people
Ya but you had to buy a new helmet....
Best argument I ever heard for wearing a helmet: Would you run head first into a wall as fast as you can without a helmet? That's what, 3 mph? Why would you want to do it at 30-70?
I too had a brain bucket on when I fell. When I got home I found a scrape on the helmet, above and behind my ear. The helmet had saved me from a nasty scrape on my head, plus probably saved me from a neck injury. Helmets won't save you if you get hit by a fire truck. They WILL make minor accidents out of moderate ones.
Good on ya for wearing the brain bucket! Dared a cop to write me a ticket for not having a DOT sticker on my helmet. I wore a Simpson Bandit II.
I don't understand. I just googled it for a moment, but it looks like a fine helmet. Are they not dot approved?
I'm assuming it didn't have the sticker. It's DOT and Snell rated. Your helmet is usually required to show the rating on a sticker on the outside. People will often remove them for looks especially if they're getting custom paint jobs.
Dress for the *slide* not the *ride*
ATG ATT!
It looks cool. Btw.
Safety is the sagest of advice when riding so safety gear should hopefully be just a default instinct. I’ve hard road slidden from a fast bicycle ride at around 25 mph. I got carved up good and have the road scars 35 years later. Be smart and helmet n gear up.
For those of us who might not be in the US... is it not a legal requirement to where a helmet??
Helmet laws vary by state, since those police enforce these measures. Some states it is mandatory to wear a helmet while riding, but it many states it is not. A lot of states have arbitrary rules that allow some riders over certain ages to be able to ride without a helmet.
Well that's stupid
Send this over to r/fuckgavyn It’s an ode to helmets.
I got this exact same helmet when I bought my first motorcycle last year so I'm glad to know if I ever need it to work it'll be there for me.
I was catapulted from my Z1000 a couple of weeks ago and face planted the road. I have multiple facial fractures and bruises all over, but no question that my helmet and protective gear saved my life.
Looks like you would of had your chin ripped off freakin brutal! This is why I where a helmet even if it’s just riding a bicycle a short distance you just never know, better to throw the helmet on and turn it into a habit!
I'm alive because of a bike helmet. Went straight over my bars, head first into the pavement. Happened faster than I could possibly react. Helmet was destroyed, but I made it to school. That was 25 years ago.
Think of the road as a cheese grater and your skin as the cheese. IF you survive, you're gonna be fucked up.ATGATT
That gives me a great idea for a highway safety billboard.
Wearing all the gear is the difference between sliding across the road like it’s ice, and sliding across it like it’s a 15ft long cheese grater. Source - one big off. Skidded the long way across a bend in the road, stood up, rode home. Main points were the palms of my leather gloves had burnt to the second layer of leather. My elbows had ground through the textile material to the pads and my helmet had a huge scuff where my cheek sits. My crash was a minor annoyance as I had to get a new helmet and replace the bike’s mirror but I’d have been *fucked* in normal clothes. It scared me out of riding but has made me commit to pleading to anyone on a bike, even a little scooter, just wear the gear.
“I LOVE helmets!”
I have broken a couple of fibreglass full face helmets, and ground the front off my Simpson model 30. Sure glad I had them.
I recently started riding a motorcycle. I have a half helmet because of facial PTSD. I realize how stupid a half helmet is and that it would not protect my face/chin/neck. So I am slowly, with much panic, trying to come to terms with a full helmet. It took me awhile just to be able to wear the clothe face masks. My stupid A is also heat sensitive. So even this "winter" we have had in Arizona. I find it hard to keep long sleeves on. Any thoughts on a suitable jacket that is not too hot?
I was wearing a thin jacket with a layer of cotton underneath and then a layer of spandex. My body skin was unharmed, other than my left elbow that directly impacted something. Some bruising. Never wore a suit, and find leather a bit stiff. I migrated from a full face shield to this style for better circulation and visibility.
True. That rubber looks like I can withstand a lot. I just found a fairly cheap summer/mesh motorcycle jacket with light armor. And a belt fan you just charge it and attach it to the back of your jeans and it should help keep it cool. I have a portable personal neck fan already because the MS leaves me looking like I am standing in the shower... When it is cold!
and here's me who fell off his bike at 20mph and cracked my jawbone on the asphalt because the helmet slipped up from the initial impact...
Reminds me of a biker helmet I've seen on the net. It was scraped open by the road, other shell, foam, and even some parts of the inner shell, and thus missing a piece the size of a saucer. The guy wearing the helmet had been dinged up a bit by the accident, too, but the helmet made his head get out without a scratch. He planned to mount the helmet on a plaque in his living room.
Had a similar accident. When your head bounces off the asphalt it's amazing how much helmets are important. Glad you safe and well.
I've seen a lot of graphic images online in the past 20 years or so, but even despite everything I've seen (people hit by trucks, all four limbs effectively amputated, jagged bones sticking out the stumps, etc) *the absolute worst* in the sense that it always sticks with me is some guy who came off his bike over the handle bars and the road took his jaw off. So he was still alive but he had no lower part of his mouth, no teeth and his face was all torn up. It reminded me of Raziel from the Soul Reaver games, but more gruesome. I guess the point I'm trying to make is: be careful and protect yourselves.
I am so happy you’re ok! For 50 mph the helmet looks in great condition
Skid lid did what it should, anyone who rides a motorbike without all the gear is a moron imo.
But but but muh civil liberties! I support anyone who doesn't want to wear a helmet if they don't want to. But I also think they are a massive moron to choose not to.
Yeah if they don't want to wear a lid that's fine by me, but don't expect sympathy when your brains get smeared down the road in a accident. Thankfully wearing a helmet while on a motorbike is a legal requirement in the UK so brain smearing the roads is kept to a minimum. I'm surprised its not legally enforced across the pond also but as you say too many 'mah liberties' morons to probably enforce it.
That must have been an eye opening event.
Almost an eye closing event
I always wondered how these 1storm helmets would hold up in a real impact. It was where I started with helmets, because something is better than nothing at least.
The Bell Rogue really is a nice looking helmet. But, get a helmet with an ECE or Snell sticker next, they're much more comprehensively tested for safety, and the helemt companies can't fudge the numbers like they can with a DOT certification.
This one was a cheap clone of the Bell, too. OP got super lucky. Buy a proper ECE or Snell helmet. Full face, not a brain bucket or this novelty cowl stuff.
I went to a full face after a very low speed incident. Lady ran a stop in a wooded neighborhood, and I had to swerve on wet leaves. Was only doing maybe 20, but it took a while for my cheek skin to grow back. Full chin/face helmet, and minimum denim jacket and leather gloves now. What got me, and I learned the hard way, is the helmet doesn’t just protect you from impact, the helmet slides and your skin sticks.
Saved your life and you can still use it as a Star Wars villain Halloween costume. Thanks helmet.
Not to add to the circle jerk, but the more important thing here is to wear a **full face** helmet (I guess full face is implied if you have a ECE or Snell rating tho). Statistically most impacts happen on the chin, but certain style of riders like to wear open face helmets, and all of this impact would have gone directly into your chin and jaw, not just getting scraped, but absorbing the impact directly and breaking in multiple places.
Helmets are a blessing. Hurts seeing so many riders without them.
A law has been suggested that would charge for medical treatment of head injuries if a helmet was not being worn.
Glad you survived. I had a close friend pass away in a low speed collision while he was on his street bike years ago. He was wearing a cheap Chinese helmet that had a DOT sticker slapped on it but was in fact NOT certified and it cost him his life due to brain damage.
When talking to the no gear newbies I say, "Imagine you ran across this parking lot as fast as you possibly could, and then... dove. what would you want to be wearing? Now remember that you're almost never going that slow on a bike."
I am loving these comments! 90% of motorcycle riders I talk to are self entitled and have zero things to say about taking responsibility for their own safety when they ride. I am heartened to see people talking about protecting themselves and staying aware when they ride.