Accidents Happen!
No matter what happens in life, you can not predict when accidents or unexpected events will occur, but there are many ways to prevent serious injuries from occurring. Many people consistently rely on motorcycles and bicycles as a mode of transportation. Accidents and tragedies still happen everyday, however many injuries can be prevented and lives can be saved by simply wearing a safety helmet.
My younger brother Michael, was almost taken from our family while riding a motorized dirt bike for the first time two years ago. “On average, approximately 2,000 motorcyclists are killed and more than 50,000 are injured in traffic crashes each year” (MOTOR).
It was a Saturday morning that he and I had gotten up at five a.m. to start setting up our garage sale. We both sipped on coffee and enjoyed talking with people throughout the morning and early afternoon at the sale. Close to three o’clock in the afternoon, we had finally decided to pack up what was left of the garage sale and call it a day. We were both exhausted from waking up so early and bartering with people all day. Michael had this great idea that he wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle in our backyard. It may seem ridiculous at first, but actually our backyard is a canyon flat close to half an acre in size. It just didn’t seem like a good idea to me, due to the fact that he was low on sleep and had an eventful day already. My other brother Greg and a few of his friends used our backyard to practice dirt bike jumps, and to work on fixing up their bikes. Michael was briefly instructed by Greg, on how the throttle and brake worked on the dirt bike. Then the smartest part of the whole idea came next, he put on his yellow dirt bike helmet. I could tell immediately that it was going to be a challenge for him using his hands to control the bike unlike his feet to operate a car.
The first attempt on the bike he lost control and flew ten feet off the edge of our canyon going way too fast. He had fallen but luckily was not injured. He simply got up, laughed and made sure the bike wasn’t broken or damaged. Then he hoped back on for a second attempt to master the art of riding a dirt bike. This time he gripped the throttle too harshly and was not paying attention to where the bike was being directed. He ended up slamming into a hundred foot monstrous eucalyptus tree in our backyard. Once the bike slammed to a halt from the impact of the tree, the gas tank was cracked and Michael was completely covered in gasoline. He had hit his head very hard before getting flung off the motor bike. He was lying on the ground, motionless for about a minute or so before he had realized what had happened. My dad, Greg, and I ran to his stunned body next to the broken motor bike. The first thing out of my dad’s mouth was “What the hell are you doing trying to kill yourself!” Michael said that every part of his body hurt and ached and he needed to go to the hospital. While his body was still in shock, he managed to limp to the car with some help from my brother and dad.
When he arrived at the emergency room, the hospital completed x-rays of his legs, arms, and head. Luckily he had no concussions, or internal bleeding of the head. But unfortunately he had shattered his right wrist, broken his left arm, and chipped his right kneecap. This meant that he was going to come home with a leg brace, and two casts, one for each arm and lovely crutches. After months of stinky casts followed by lots of physical therapy, he has regained strength in both arms and his leg. However he hasn’t chosen to attempt to ride any sort of motorcycle since his accident. “Motorcycle helmets save lives and taxpayers dollars” (CA DHS).
My brother used his head to learn the hard way on attempting to to ride a dirt bike. Another example is football related head injuries. Football helmets prevent further or serious injury due to the physical contact sport. Bicyclists run a risk as well of being out on public roads, with little protection. Many states also have seperate laws in regards to helmet requirements. By wearing a helmet while playing aggressive sports or while riding a bike can protect and possibly save your life.
In 2006, I was faced with an unexpected nightmare of an accident that simply couldn’t be prevented. “In 2005, 784 pedal cyclists were killed and an additional 45,000 injured in traffic crashes” (NHTSA). It was a Sunday evening, around dusk in early August. I walked out the front door got into my silver Camry, clicked my seatbelt, while my foot was on the brake I put the car into reverse. I put my arm on the back of the passenger seat as I looked both ways before releasing my foot from the brake, slowly reversing from my driveway, not noticing my brother’s SUV parked on the street had created a blind spot. My car slowly entered into oncoming traffic. The next thing I saw in the back of my window was a red bicycle fly over the back of my trunk to the right side of my car and a person fly off my car to the left side. I panicked immediately, put the car in drive and moved it up a couple of feet. I flung my seatbelt off in a mad panic, and then I rushed out of the car to check on the person that was lying in the middle of the road. He was screaming and there was blood coming from his mouth, nose, and his hand was also bleeding. We immediately called 911, and the police, ambulance, and fire department arrived within two minutes. His carbon fiber light weight racing bicycle that he has been riding only had one wheel and the frame of the bike was bent into a ninety degree angle. He went to UCSD medical center in an ambulance and when he arrived in the ER, they gave him four stitches in his hand and some pain medication for the bruising and impact from my car. The following morning he went to the dentist to get one of his teeth capped, because it was chipped from the accident. When I was younger, my dad and I would joke about hitting people you could receive a certain amount of points; but now that I have actually hit a person it wasn’t very funny at all. This man was also wearing a bicycle helmet. If he had not been wearing one he very well could have died, or had serve head injuries.
Many injuries and death can be prevented by simply wearing a safety helmet. The above examples show how helmets can prevent serious injuries. Helmets have been used for many years, research and statistics show that helmets can seriously reduce the risk of injuries and even death. Seeing my brother bounce his head off a tree and the cyclist being thrown from the impact of my car proved that helmets do reduce the risk of injuries. Life is too short --- protect yourself by wearing a helmet!
My younger brother Michael, was almost taken from our family while riding a motorized dirt bike for the first time two years ago. “On average, approximately 2,000 motorcyclists are killed and more than 50,000 are injured in traffic crashes each year” (MOTOR).
It was a Saturday morning that he and I had gotten up at five a.m. to start setting up our garage sale. We both sipped on coffee and enjoyed talking with people throughout the morning and early afternoon at the sale. Close to three o’clock in the afternoon, we had finally decided to pack up what was left of the garage sale and call it a day. We were both exhausted from waking up so early and bartering with people all day. Michael had this great idea that he wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle in our backyard. It may seem ridiculous at first, but actually our backyard is a canyon flat close to half an acre in size. It just didn’t seem like a good idea to me, due to the fact that he was low on sleep and had an eventful day already. My other brother Greg and a few of his friends used our backyard to practice dirt bike jumps, and to work on fixing up their bikes. Michael was briefly instructed by Greg, on how the throttle and brake worked on the dirt bike. Then the smartest part of the whole idea came next, he put on his yellow dirt bike helmet. I could tell immediately that it was going to be a challenge for him using his hands to control the bike unlike his feet to operate a car.
The first attempt on the bike he lost control and flew ten feet off the edge of our canyon going way too fast. He had fallen but luckily was not injured. He simply got up, laughed and made sure the bike wasn’t broken or damaged. Then he hoped back on for a second attempt to master the art of riding a dirt bike. This time he gripped the throttle too harshly and was not paying attention to where the bike was being directed. He ended up slamming into a hundred foot monstrous eucalyptus tree in our backyard. Once the bike slammed to a halt from the impact of the tree, the gas tank was cracked and Michael was completely covered in gasoline. He had hit his head very hard before getting flung off the motor bike. He was lying on the ground, motionless for about a minute or so before he had realized what had happened. My dad, Greg, and I ran to his stunned body next to the broken motor bike. The first thing out of my dad’s mouth was “What the hell are you doing trying to kill yourself!” Michael said that every part of his body hurt and ached and he needed to go to the hospital. While his body was still in shock, he managed to limp to the car with some help from my brother and dad.
When he arrived at the emergency room, the hospital completed x-rays of his legs, arms, and head. Luckily he had no concussions, or internal bleeding of the head. But unfortunately he had shattered his right wrist, broken his left arm, and chipped his right kneecap. This meant that he was going to come home with a leg brace, and two casts, one for each arm and lovely crutches. After months of stinky casts followed by lots of physical therapy, he has regained strength in both arms and his leg. However he hasn’t chosen to attempt to ride any sort of motorcycle since his accident. “Motorcycle helmets save lives and taxpayers dollars” (CA DHS).
My brother used his head to learn the hard way on attempting to to ride a dirt bike. Another example is football related head injuries. Football helmets prevent further or serious injury due to the physical contact sport. Bicyclists run a risk as well of being out on public roads, with little protection. Many states also have seperate laws in regards to helmet requirements. By wearing a helmet while playing aggressive sports or while riding a bike can protect and possibly save your life.
In 2006, I was faced with an unexpected nightmare of an accident that simply couldn’t be prevented. “In 2005, 784 pedal cyclists were killed and an additional 45,000 injured in traffic crashes” (NHTSA). It was a Sunday evening, around dusk in early August. I walked out the front door got into my silver Camry, clicked my seatbelt, while my foot was on the brake I put the car into reverse. I put my arm on the back of the passenger seat as I looked both ways before releasing my foot from the brake, slowly reversing from my driveway, not noticing my brother’s SUV parked on the street had created a blind spot. My car slowly entered into oncoming traffic. The next thing I saw in the back of my window was a red bicycle fly over the back of my trunk to the right side of my car and a person fly off my car to the left side. I panicked immediately, put the car in drive and moved it up a couple of feet. I flung my seatbelt off in a mad panic, and then I rushed out of the car to check on the person that was lying in the middle of the road. He was screaming and there was blood coming from his mouth, nose, and his hand was also bleeding. We immediately called 911, and the police, ambulance, and fire department arrived within two minutes. His carbon fiber light weight racing bicycle that he has been riding only had one wheel and the frame of the bike was bent into a ninety degree angle. He went to UCSD medical center in an ambulance and when he arrived in the ER, they gave him four stitches in his hand and some pain medication for the bruising and impact from my car. The following morning he went to the dentist to get one of his teeth capped, because it was chipped from the accident. When I was younger, my dad and I would joke about hitting people you could receive a certain amount of points; but now that I have actually hit a person it wasn’t very funny at all. This man was also wearing a bicycle helmet. If he had not been wearing one he very well could have died, or had serve head injuries.
Many injuries and death can be prevented by simply wearing a safety helmet. The above examples show how helmets can prevent serious injuries. Helmets have been used for many years, research and statistics show that helmets can seriously reduce the risk of injuries and even death. Seeing my brother bounce his head off a tree and the cyclist being thrown from the impact of my car proved that helmets do reduce the risk of injuries. Life is too short --- protect yourself by wearing a helmet!
posted by Leslie Tallerday at
12:37 AM
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