# A Little Lesson In Safety



## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

It seems we all spend money on gear to keep us safe in the sports / activities that we do - bike helmets, hiking boots and in my case, motorcycle gear, which can be VERY expensive:

Helmet - $300
Boots - $250
Pants - $100
Jersey - $50
Goggles - $30
Gloves - $20
Chest Protector - $50
Knee / Elbow Protection - $30

Total - $780+ after you buy the motorcycle. We have always insisted on full protection - you never know what you might hit or get hit by. Nothing like getting stabbed in the chest by a tree or knocked in the head by a rock. The sport that we choose is dangerous, even when you do everything you can to keep yourself safe, but never do you appreciate the money you have spent until it saves your life.

This weekend we rode the dunes with a group of friends. One of the guys that we were riding with did not realize that I was still coming and turned right in front of me. We collided and I rag dolled on to the ground. My bike trapped my legs/lower half of my body and the quad ran over my head and then stopped on the upper half of my body. According to the people that pulled those bikes off of me you could not even tell I was under the whole pile. Short of looking like I was splatter painted in green, purple & blue plus lots of muscle soreness, I was able to walk away from this accident. Had I been wearing any less than I was (see list above), who knows how it would have turned out. I will be replacing my helmet (hit the ground and then was ran over by a quad), my boots (pipe melted almost all the way through) and chest protector (cracked). My bike has to make a trip to the shop because my front forks are bent and my muffler is all smashed in but all in all everything is OK.

So, this is a reminder to all of you: whatever safety gear you own, make sure it is still doing it's job (remember, helmets need to be replaced after a crash or every 1.5 years) and make sure you have everything you need to keep you as safe as possible. Remember - it can't save you if you are not wearing it.

Shannon


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Wow, thank God you're OK and bless you for taking safety seriously. I will never forget the day in 5th grade when I found out my good friend had crashed on his motorcycle and was paralyzed from the chest down. I have been paranoid about safety on bikes and motorcycles ever since.


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## WYOCAMPER (Mar 28, 2007)

WOW!!!! Sorry to hear about the accident, but sure glad that you're OK.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Glad to hear you are ok. Good point on the safety stuff too.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Great reminder on safety equipment!









We're very glad to hear the only damage was bent bikes and some gear that needs replacing!


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Ahhhhhhh !!!!

These are the stories that even ex-lawyers love to hear to remind us of the old days when we would have sued your friend, the bike manufacturer, the protective gear manufacturer, the land owners of the ground you were riding on when you got hurt, the boot company, etc -- and made you a pretty penny...

LOL


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## jasonrebecca (Oct 30, 2007)

Glad to hear that other then being sore you are fine.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Thank God your Ok - and great point about safety!


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## campfirenut (Aug 9, 2006)

Glad to hear no one got seriously hurt. Just goes to let us know that it only takes a split second before it's all over.

Ride safe everyone.

Bob


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

WOW! Glad to hear you're ok. A little soreness isn't such a bad thing - serves as a reminder (to everyone) of what could have happened. Maybe this will inspire more safety equipment on more holiday wish lists!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ghosty said:


> Ahhhhhhh !!!!
> 
> These are the stories that even ex-lawyers love to hear to remind us of the old days when we would have sued your friend, the bike manufacturer, the protective gear manufacturer, the land owners of the ground you were riding on when you got hurt, the boot company, etc -- and made you a pretty penny...
> 
> LOL


Be careful now. As was earlier noted, Bankers are currently making lawyers look good. Don't reverse that trend.


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

great reminder. glad it's only aching. it can happen so fast, a couple years ago on the 4th of July i was just putting the food out on the picnic table. my youngest son ran by to get on this motorcycle (crotch rocket) NO helmet and no leather jacket!!
just shorts and a tee shirt. so i YELLED stop. get you stuff on. his response"i'm only going up the street i'll be right back". again i yelled so he grabbed his helmet. thank god! about 10 minutes later the phone rings. you guessed it, my buddy up the street says Jay just dumped his bike. long story short he was in the hospital for 10 days in the burn unit. they treat road rash as burns. approx. 30% of this body was bad road rash. his helmet was beat up pretty bad. he tumbled about 30 yards on the road. nothing broken but he did need to get a pin in his shoulder. Dr said lucky the helmet was on.
Pa. doesn't require helmets. but they will give you a ticket for no seat belt







all is good now


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