In a column in The Telegraph about cycling, British endurance athlete and gold-medalist rower James Cracknell writes more about the accident last summer on Route 66 in Arizona that nearly took his life.
Cracknell’s tale illustrates why riders should wear a helmet:
Despite being lit up like a Christmas tree, I was knocked off my bike by a petrol tanker just outside Winslow in Arizona. The truck’s wing mirror hit me on the back of the head, enough impact was absorbed by the helmet to leave me with “only” two skull fractures, a head full of staples and bleeding to the frontal lobes of the brain – the area that controls personality, concentration, motivation, planning and decision-making.
I’m lucky to be alive. The helmet that bore the brunt was a lightweight, carbon-reinforced Alpina Pheos. The quick actions of the ambulance crew saved my life, but it wasn’t luck that made me wear the helmet. I don’t have a commercial relationship with the manufacturer, by the way.
It has been a frustrating five months and we still don’t know to what extent my brain will repair itself. I get annoyed by things that never used to bother me; I need much more sleep; my facial recognition and time-keeping can be poor, and I have a very black and white view of the world.
Although I was always a careful rider, I now take even more precautions to reassure my wife, who nearly lost her husband while pregnant with our third child: I leave more time for a journey, wear brighter clothing and choose a quieter route. I have no memory of the accident and I won’t let it change my life any more than it already has.
On a related note, I’ll never understand those few in the motorcycle community who remain militantly opposed to helmet laws. Sure, Cracknell’s helmet didn’t protect him 100 percent from a brain injury. But he’s still physically active after his ordeal, obviously still can communicate in a lucid manner, and remains a husband to his wife and a father to his children.
Is there any doubt he’d be an obituary instead if he hadn’t worn one?
I’d like to go one further and not only recommend wearing a helmet but protective clothing also. A few years ago I was flattened by a fool in a car who changed lanes without looking. I mean, how can you not see a big guy in a yellow jacket with a yellow helmet on a big yellow Harley with loud pipes. The guy drove next to me when all of a sudden he changed lanes and literally knocked me over while doing something like 65 mph. The bike was totalled but all I had was a broken little toe, despite the fact that I was knocked down onto the asfalt. The helmet was thrashed and so was all my (protective )clothing but I was ok. Therefor, not just the helmet but also the clothing will save you!
I think bicyclists do not get enough respect and appreciation for their role on roads in this country. Besides farmers, bicyclists were the main cogs in bringing about a highway system. While I would not want to see a cyclist on an Interstate; why not create a path from a blue highway, so they can to their destination in one piece?
I do wear a helmet, but, I don’t want to be told I have to.
Once, someone stopped in front of me as I was checking over my shoulder to see if I could change lanes. I went over them and landed in the other lane of traffic. My helmet didn’t have a scratch on it, but my denim jacket and jeans were ripped to pieces.
I don’t mean to say that I would have been alright without my helmet, because I could just of easily slid on my head down the road.
But, I just don’t want more laws.
If you’re already wearing a helmet, Trevor, why does it matter to you whether a helmet law is passed?
It’s obvious a helmet law would be beneficial to motorists, families and society in general — namely, by keeping more people alive during accidents.
I do wear one by choice. However, I know people who don’t want to wear one, and I respect their choice not to.