We had a disturbing case today.  But first, a little background info ...

 

My oldest son (we'll call him Jr.) is now 15 years old.  He has always been fascinated with motorcycles, even when he was a small boy.  My husband has a bike, a Yamaha R1 (a 1000 cc sports bike) and we all love taking turns riding with him down quiet country roads.  Last summer we bought Jr. a bike to learn to ride as well.  It's not as powerful as Daddy's, it's a Kawasaki Ninja (a 600 cc sports bike).  Jr. is ONLY allowed to ride with his father, has to stay on quiet back roads, only rides in the daylight, obeys all traffic law, and absolute MUST wear all safety gear no matter how "gay", "nerdy", or "uncool" it may seem.  He has never once complained.  But no amount of safety equipment allays my fears when they go riding.  He's my baby and I can't help but worry. 

 

Now back to our case today ...

 

A 17 year old girl went for a joy ride with her boyfriend.  Neither were wearing a helmet or any other safety gear.  While traveling down an unpaved road, the boyfriend lost control of the bike, skid alongside the edge of the road, subsequently hit a mailbox which in turn knocked both of them off the bike.  The boy suffered only road rash along his arms and walked away from the accident otherwise intact.  The girl too suffered very minimal road rash to her elbows, forearms, and thighs.  But unlike her boyfriend, she didn't walk away from the accident.  Because she was not wearing a helmet she suffered extensive blunt head trauma and did not survive her injuries.  Such a sad thing for this family to have to endure, knowing that something as simple as a helmet would have kept their loved one here. 

 

Just as seatbelts save lives while traveling in a motor vehicle, helmets save lives when traveling on motorcycles.  Please pass the word along.