Ruminations in Korea

Last week, there was a horrible accident. I have only heard bits and pieces of the story from several sources, and I have no way of checking the veracity of the various aspects of the story. However, what I have heard is this:

A guy and his girlfriend were riding his motorcycle from Pusan to Namhae, Korea. They swerved to avoid a car in front of them. They swerved into oncoming traffic and ended up in a head on collision with an oncoming car. The girlfriend went over the car and suffered serious injuries including both sides of her pelvis being fractured. The guy went head first through the windshield of the car. He suffered multiple compound fractures. He was not wearing a helmet. He suffered severe head trauma and was being kept in a drug-induced coma. She will pull through. It is not known what will become of him.

WEAR A HELMET! PLEASE WEAR A HELMET!

I don’t know how much stronger I can say that, or how much stronger I can implore you. If you get on a motorcycle or scooter, please wear a helmet.

I know it’s heavy. I know it’s hot. I know it’s uncomfortable I know you don’t look as cool. But please wear a helmet.

Usually, the most serious motorcycle accidents are not caused by the other vehicle or the actual accident itself. The killing, paralyzing, disabling, mentally impairing, and other most serious injuries are most often caused by an unprotected head smacking something hard like another vehicle, the road, a pole, a rock, or just about anything else. You MUST protect your head. Head protection with a sturdy helmet can greatly reduce the seriousness of injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents.

Every year at this time, the largest motorcycle rally on Earth is held in Sturgis, South Dakota. The week-long rally kicked off this past weekend. Take a brief look at the injuries and deaths that occurred over the weekend. The Rapid City Journal reports:

[A] Missouri man, 59-year-old Clarence Arthur Wade of Joplin, was killed when his 2003 Harley-Davidson went off the I-90 service road at 8:36 a.m. near the Tilford Rest Area, slid into the west ditch and overturned, according to Lt. Kevin Karley, assistant district commander of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Wade was not wearing a helmet and suffered head injuries, according to the Highway Patrol. He died at the scene. Alcohol was not involved, Karley said.

And then there is this one:

Paul Standiford, 67, of Janesville, Iowa, was traveling west on I-90 when he pulled into the passing lane to allow traffic to enter from the westbound on-ramp. As he moved to the far left of the passing lane, the roadway curved to the right, and Standiford’s bike dropped off the median shoulder and began to roll over, throwing him into the median, according to the Highway Patrol report. Standiford suffered severe head, arm, stomach and leg injuries, according to the Highway Patrol. He was taken to Wall Airport by the Wall ambulance and then airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m. Standiford was not wearing a helmet.

In the non-fatal category there was:

Enrique Hernandez Huerta of St. Paul, Minn., was injured when his motorcycle was hit by a speeding pickup … driven by John Nugent, 23, of Big Piney, Wyo. Nugent was clocked on radar at 90 mph as he drove west in Boulder Canyon, and a Highway Patrol trooper who turned his vehicle around to make a traffic stop saw Nugent cross the center line and sideswipe Huerta’s 2001 Indian motorcycle, Karley said. … Huerta was not wearing a helmet, suffered serious head injuries and was initially taken to Lead-Deadwood Regional Hospital.

and:

At 1:15 p.m. Saturday, April Petersen, 27, Denver, was traveling east on Rochford Road on a Harley-Davidson when she lost control on a curve and struck a guardrail. She was not wearing a helmet and suffered a serious head injury.

What happened to the guys that were wearing their helmets when the flipped over in the median?

About 7:49 p.m. Saturday, Vernon Beardsley, 65, of Sterling, Colo., along with his passenger, Jenny Scholz, 42, of Bennett, Colo., suffered minor injuries in an accident near Piedmont. They were riding westbound on I-90 when another vehicle changed lanes, forcing Beardsley’s trike into the median. The trike rolled and came to rest in the eastbound lanes of I-90. Beardsley and his passenger were both wearing helmets and suffered minor injuries, Karley said.

I hope you are seeing patterns here.

I don’t want to get into a debate about whether helmet use should be required by law (which it is in Korea) because it shouldn’t matter whether or not there is a law. Everyone should wear a helmet anyway.

I don’t know who the guy in the accident here in Korea was, but God bless you, man. I sincerely hope you and your girlfriend pull through and heal completely.

Please, people. Just wear a helmet.