No More Accidents Essays - Helmets, Bicycle Helmet, Hockey Helmet

No More Accidents No More Accidents Bike helmet safety is a big problem in our society. People do not realize that a bike helmet to a biker is the same as a seat belt to a motorist. We as bikers need all the protection that we can get since we don't have the tank-like protection of a '88 Ford Tempo. So now I am going to tell you a story of a personal experience, the basics to a helmet and some statistics Even though bike helmets are designed to lessen the impact in one particular spot and disperse the force throughout the helmet. The helmet however is not the most safest thing to but in our society. Most manufactures today tend to make helmets that have a lot of holes and are made for fashion instead of for being a good helmet. The plastic coating on most helmets is there to prevent less friction when you are sliding down on your head. The air holes on the helmet provide better air flow and a fresh new style but they lessen the fact of the force upon impact will have less of a space to disperse the force into. Do not get me wrong all the bicycle helmets on the market pass at least the minimum of the standard. In Austrailia the market had to lower the standard of their helmets because they were soo expensive, so that people would buy their helmets. Being in a bike accident is a very tramatizing thing to go through. I went through several accidents, but one accident in particular knocked some sense into me about helmet safety. One summer morning I woke up like every other day. I did all the normal things one would do in the morning like taking a shower, eating breakfast and getting dressed. After I got myself all set up to go out for the day, I called up one of my friends to go do something. It was another one of San Francisco's beautiful weather days so we decided to go bicycle riding and to play some basketball. So, then I start to head out of my house to get my bicycle ready for departure about 10am. Now I am on my way to my friends' house. The first half of my ride was pretty basic, all it was just a nice cruise down hill. The second part however was not so much difficult as I just had to keep my eyes on the path. I was going on some off road bike trails through the Lake Merced area. I was having a good time except when I hit the home stretch. I was hitting a turn going about 15 MPH when all of a sudden I blacked out. I wake up to see everything, people, the sky, and the ground, in a blood reddish tint. At that point I knew something bad had happened even thought I was feeling fine. I don't remember getting up, just stumbling around like I just learned to walk. I notice that everyone is starring at me like I was crazy. I see the friend that I was going to meet standing in the crowd holding my bike. I asked him if my bike was all right and he replied by saying that I have worse things to worry about. At that point I turned around and noticed that the fire fighters came and were leading me over to their truck. They started to clean up my face. I was asking for a mirror so I could get some idea of what condition that I was in. When I brought the mirror up to my face I was completely horrified of the condition that I was in. The complete right hand side of my face looked like someone had taken a cheese grater to my face. My face was completely covered in blood, mangled facial tissue, dirt and pebbles. When I saw this I dropped the mirror on the ground. Looking at the mirror on the ground I could see that the rest of my body was in the same condition as my face. I personally don't think that it was a good idea to give someone