I have a serious question for any motorcycle lovers that ride and dont wear helmets... WHY?? I have today, for what seems like the millionth time, had to watch someone die and a familys life destroyed b/c this person chose not to wear a helmet on his bike and flew headfirst into a wind shield. The Pt's brain was soooo swollen they couldnt even get the bone flap back on, or stich the dura back together....there was brain everywhere! Out the nose and Ears.. And then the pt's off the OR table only to die in PACU with a waiting room FULL of screaming crying family members..
I am not judging anyone, but rather trying to understand why someone would make the choice to not wear a helmet. Is it the feeling of freedom, or does the helmet restrict your head that much as to the point of discomfort?
Working in the ER I have seen enough motorcycle accidents to believe that wearing a good helmet is important.
I always wear mine, I have my own harley.
My husband will not wear one unless we are traveling in a mandatory state.
I believe some people choose not to wear one because they have never outgrown the teenage belief that they are invincible and nothing can hurt them.
I do wish helmets were mandatory in all states. People that do not work in an ER or hospital can not visualize that anquish that a head injury causes for all involved.
I would never ride a motorcycle, helmet or not. I don't, however, wear a bike helmet. I am from a generation where we didn't wear them, and I like the feel of the breeze though my hair. We don't have much traffic where I ride my bike.
Even worse, I can't stand to see people with a small child on the back of the bike. A child cannot accurately assess the true danger of a bike, and someone is a fool to think that if they are "careful enough" that they won't wreck...you never know what some other person in a car will do.
To me, if you are not old enough to get a license, you shouldn't be old enough to be put on a motorcyle by your parents...the law should protect these children the same way that we protect them with mandatory car-seat laws.
I think it's very dangerous not to wear a motorcycle helmet - and cannot understand why Florida repealed the helmet law a few years ago (need for more donors?)
DeLana
P.S. Guilty of not wearing a bicycle helmet :imbar - but don't consider the risk even slightly comparable to that of not wearing a motorcycle helmet
And it has since been statistically proven that serious injuries and deaths have increased.
I realize that many people don't want the government to tell them what to do, and they feel they should have a right to not wear a helmet. However, just as seatbelts, safety seats for children are mandated, I feel that the helmut law should be reinstated and persons required to wear a helmut like it or not.
I'm not sure "where are we going to draw the line" in allowing people to make stupid decisions. But my personal line that I'd like to see includes a mandatory helmut law for motorcycle drivers. Just an opinion.
Took care of a 7 year old girl who was wearing a bicycle helmet, ran into a telephone pole, and still had a small subdural...
There are cities that mandate children wear a bicycle helmet...
Uncle Sam sure seems to think he's a better parent than we are...
Well, Uncle Sam sure is smarter than some stupid parents out there.
Wonder what the extent of the SDH would have been without the helmut?
We all know stories of someone who didn't wear a seatbelt and had they had a seatbelt they might have been injured more. I've seen many helmuted persons with severe head injuries. They aren't preventative of all injuries.
I frankly don't care if folks don't wear helmets for motorcycles and/or bikes. However, when they get their head injury, can't work, need to live in a nursing home or have 24/7 care, they don't need government Medicaid or disability either!
I live and work in Florida and personally don't care if you choose not to wear a helmet(big believer in the Darwin theory) but I wish the legislature had included in the helmet law that if you choose not to wear a helmet you are automatically an organ donor if injured and declared brain dead. I'd like to see some good come out of a tragic situation.
Took care of a 7 year old girl who was wearing a bicycle helmet, ran into a telephone pole, and still had a small subdural...
There are cities that mandate children wear a bicycle helmet...
Uncle Sam sure seems to think he's a better parent than we are...
And my son fell off his bicycle when he was 9, hit his head on a fire hydrant that cracked his helmet about half-way through. He, however had no damage. So it saved at least one life, or at the very least a lot of brain damage considering the condition of the helmet.
You said the 7 year old girl had a small subdural. You don't say whether or not she survived normall. I am guessing she probably did. How big do you think it would have been without the helmet?
You said the 7 year old girl had a small subdural. You don't say whether or not she survived normall. I am guessing she probably did. How big do you think it would have been without the helmet?
she did fine...
Likely would have been bigger...
I'm for any head protection, but it should be up to the consumer (or parent) to make these decisions...
I frankly don't care if folks don't wear helmets for motorcycles and/or bikes. However, when they get their head injury, can't work, need to live in a nursing home or have 24/7 care, they don't need government Medicaid or disability either!
Okay, so we should then not give government assistance to those who have lost a foot, because they "ate whatever they wanted" for the last 20 years, didn't check their sugars more than once a week, went barefoot around the yard, got an ulcer, and blew it off for 3 months...
Or the 40 year habit of a 1 pack a day smoker gets no medicare benefits either, because he made the choice, right?
gonzo1, ASN, RN
1,739 Posts
Working in the ER I have seen enough motorcycle accidents to believe that wearing a good helmet is important.
I always wear mine, I have my own harley.
My husband will not wear one unless we are traveling in a mandatory state.
I believe some people choose not to wear one because they have never outgrown the teenage belief that they are invincible and nothing can hurt them.
I do wish helmets were mandatory in all states. People that do not work in an ER or hospital can not visualize that anquish that a head injury causes for all involved.