>
Welcome to another installment of the Top 10 Ways to Avoid the ER.
Number 3 – Dress for disaster
A couple years ago, I witnessed a motorcycle crash on the freeway. It was a young man, going about 70 mph, on a rainy day. He hit the brakes too hard, and the bike went down, and he ended up sliding along the freeway on his back for quite a ways, until he came to a gradual stop. Fortunately for him, he was wearing an elaborate safety suit, with full leathers, motorcycle boots, full face helmet, gloves, and a heavy padded jacket with reinforcement.
After he came to a stop, he stood up, and appeared uninjured. This is amazing. Granted, if he had slammed into something abruptly, the protective gear may not have completely saved him, but if he had been in shorts and flip flops, it would have been a complete disaster. For many activities, we should wear protective gear, including: mountain biking, skateboarding, skating, skiing, etc.
Just assume you’re going to crash, and think about how not fun it would be to have me picking gravel out of your skin with tweezers, and I think you’ll go for the gear.
{ 4 comments }
