Wednesday, August 26, 2009

THIS is why you wear a helmet and use lights at night.

An excerpt from a Mankato Free Press story about a local douchebag who was riding his bike at night on the sidewalk, with no helmet and no lights:

"Joshua Kuck remembers getting on his bike and heading home from work Monday night.

He recalls taking his usual route home, then seeing a car pull in front of him as his Huffy mountain bike zipped across Mulberry Street. He’s pretty sure he at least thought about taking evasive action.

After that, everything is a blur until he woke up strapped to a backboard at Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital. The nurses told him he was lucky, the crash with a 1992 Buick could have been much worse."

Click HERE to read the full story.

1 comment:

Trisha said...

I read the linked article and examined the picture of the guy. I agree that a good light MAY have helped him avoid this accident but I fail to see what a helmet would have done for him. Unless you're going to ride in a full-face motorcycle helmet, your face is still out there. Granted, he could have fallen differently, in which case a helmet MAY have reduced his risk of concussion. It also could have helped him break his neck.

Helmets are great for protecting heads from concussions when falling from head-height to the ground. They are not designed to protect from incoming objects, like cars.

Ultimately, take care to be seen. This means don't ride on sidewalks and illuminate yourself like crazy.