I was reading Mr Wolfs thread about the idiots who take to wearing this kit in the summer with no regard to THEIR own safety .... i often wonder if they ever come off, or rather I hope they come off just to prove a point but I have to say in all my years on Traffic I NEVER had the pleasure of going to an RTA involving such a creature until one day I received a call to go to the A+E Dept at RSCH Brighton ....
A 40ish year old male had been taken to A+E by his mates and dumped on a trolley with what appeared to be quite serious injuries ... as it turned out it was just a lot of blood and cosmetic damage.
I arrived to find him on a trolley, barely conscious ( he was pissed out of his head ) being tended to by a Nurse. He had quite clearly come off a bike, wearing only a pair of shorts, and his injuries were entirely consistent with going over the handle bars putting his hands out and sliding along his front on the tarmac at about 30 mph ... massive grazing,cuts and flesh wounds to the forehead nose lips chin chest front of legs and I remember his toes were almost ground away.. so you get the idea of his injuries ? As soon as he realised I was there he lost his speech but when I went around the head end he would talk to the nurse and when i reappeared he would loose his speech again !
She was using a green pan scrubber ( for dishes ) to clean out the gravel from what was left of his elbow .. and without any pain whatsoever, due to his alcohol content .. amazing ! I had no reports of any RTA anywhere in the county let alone in Brighton involving a bike ... so he had obviously come off somewhere ( perhaps on private land ) but I had no evidence that he had been on a road or anything.. nothing at all so I
couldn't prove anything relating to drink drive or accident offences.
There was no doubt that when he sobered up he would be in a huge amount of pain for a very long time.. the scarring, the toes, the cosmetic damage to his body, the time in Hospital ... is I am sure still with him today... sad really ... but when I left I whispered a few words in his ears just to let him know that although I was unable to prove anything at all relating to Traffic matters and law he would pay for his utterly stupid and dangerous actions for a very long time to come and that the painful injuries would remind him on a daily basis.
This was about 15 years ago but it is one of those incidents that I shall always remember ... we all see shorts and t shirts out in the summer on fast bikes but they seem to get away with it ... makes my blood boil !
Take care out there !
Having come off a pushbike in just shorts and a sweatshirt and wearing fingers gloves which saved me having the gravel picked out of my palms just a bitvof gravel rash on the hip and knee, and boy did that hurt being cleaned up by a caring a and e nurse and her words were " we tend to show a bit of compassion to gravel rash if the injured was wearing protective gear, no protection and we give no sympathy " I don't think I would ever risk a spin out on the gtr in anything less than an armored jacket, side boots, gloves and least a pair of draggin jeans if its just a quick spin out after work, any distance involved its full kit.
Lord Rusty, nice story, but where's your thoughtful & compassionate side? ;D
Think the word you are looking for is in the English oxford dictionary between sh#t and syphilis
Its not just about wearing the gear its also about the right gear. My mate bought an ill fitting lid coz it was cheap then came of face down..............
Not pretty and as near blind as makes no difference due to the jaw bone splintering and it was a full face lid.
The full story of what he went through was/is very depressing and does make you think about why we ride bikes then we have days like today then we forget about what could happen if it all goes wrong
I never go out on the bike without head to toe protection that fits and is the best I can afford.
Quite so Fred ... like us all I am sure, I have worn leather/armour head to toe even on the hottest of days ... life is not a rehearsal and I don't want to spoil mine too early !
Quote from: Lord Rusty on April 10, 2011, 09:44:27 PM
Quite so Fred ... like us all I am sure, I have worn leather/armour head to toe even on the hottest of days ... life is not a rehearsal and I don't want to spoil mine too early !
Ditto, trussed up today from head to toe in leathers despite what must have been 20 degrees +
On a hot day I'm always kitted out, even if it is with my summer HG outfit. Just for the hot days I may look at getting those full Kevlar jeans. I won't go for the partial ones as in an accident your clothing is likely to twist and if you land on the part that isn't Kevlar you might as well not be wearing them.
NB .. a mate of mine had a slide last year and his Kevlar jeans rode up his legs and his shins and knees took a battering but the rest of his legs were ok .. I think it was just that the jeans dont "stick" to your body like leather trousers so there will always be a bit of "give" in them so get a good fit ! I have been tempted myself ....
I was always taught whether i am going to the local shops or undertaking a massive tour, always always wear the right gear...it will save your life. When i had my accident last year i still recievced road rash through my textile jacket sleeve......just imagine what that would have been like had i been wearing just a tshirt :o
As a slight aside.......there is a specific 'medical term' used by trauma teams/doctors for those who have suffered a Bike related RTA road rash...when you have lost your 3 primary layers of skin it is called 'DE-GLOVING' enough to bring tears to your eyes!
For the record, the medical teams that looked after me, after my accident, said given the nature of my impact, and how i landed, my gear almost certainly saved my life!...and 100% prevented much more extensive injuries. My HJC helmet protected my head as i skidded down the road face first and unconcious, the left hand side was almost completely gone...not a scratch inside...there is some injury in as much as my short memory is intermittent, but that will come back with time ;D
Hi
I would concur - proper gear at all times no matter how long or short the journey - yes I know when it is very warm its tempting and you can understand why people who don't but they often fail to understand how much protect the correct kit offers.
I had a major accident nearly 5 years. Car parked on a NSL road and then decided to turn right. High stress impact, with the impact speed estimated at 45 mph, apparently I had slowed down from 60mph - yes I was only doing 60mph. I apparently ending bouncing off the sid of the car and sliding down/across the road and embedded into a wall/hedge on the opposite side of the road. Injuries included smashed left hip, left thigh (now pinned but I lost over inch in leg length), crushed vertebrae, broken ribs and minor head injuries (no memory of the accident) + various minor hairline fractures. Unconscious/coma for a week, had to be resuscitated several times on the operating table, off work for 6 months with a 9-12 month gradual return to work, over 2 1/2 years of phsyio, 2 operations and it took over 3 years to full recover but I still suffer pain and discomfort.
It was a blistering hot summers day (24/25 deg C) and it was tempting not to wear the full textile gear but I am so glad I did. The Consultant who had one hell of a job patching my hip/thigh back together again said I was lucky to have survived and not to have suffered significantly worse injuries.
Fortunately no road/gravel rash - there was barely a scratch on me. The damage to my kit and helmet wasn't that great, a few scrapes and scratches from the road surface and some of the impact pads in the jacket and trousers had been damaged. The whole kit was replaced as it had to be cut open by the paramedics.
BTW I was back on a motorbike 8 months after the accident - had some funny looks asking for a test ride when walking around the showroom on crutches :) and for the last 3 and a bit years I have been averaging 10,000 miles riding for pleasure :) :) :)
You should never undervalue how much protection proper gear will afford you when it comes to the crunch.
Kind regards
Steven
This thread is starting to put me off biking - even though one mate dead two crippled and me with my right arm held together by stainless steel for best part of 30yrs
Are there any textile garments which equal the strength and safety of leather, or is it leather and only leather for ultimate protection?
Quote from: Lonewolf on April 11, 2011, 01:34:47 PM
Are there any textile garments which equal the strength and safety of leather, or is it leather and only leather for ultimate protection?
Oooh tricky one.....not a simple answer. Both Textile and Leather MC jackets have to abide by the same regulations to be passed for use, so in terms of basic protection both types offer the same. Leather has better abrasion resistence meaning that it'll probably survive an accident and be able to be used again...plus leather doesn't melt/rip from friction, and offers a liitle more cushioning, so theoretically it should limit road rash more than textiles....however that being said, leather isn't waterproof (unless you pay £2k :o for Goretex bonded suit) not very breathable, and lets be honest, if you're built like me, not very flattering either. On the other hand, textiles are evolving very very quickly, and in recent years, suits made from outlast and similiar offer pretty much unburstable protection (same as leather), but this of course costs
Much comes down to personal preference as i don't think there is much in it at all.......and of course budget, as quality textile kit is still cheaper. Buy the best you can get for your budget!! never ever skimp on kit, however that being said, I view all my gear as a use once item, once you've crashed in it, even it has survived, there is no telling how much pressure was put on the seems and material, and unless you give it to an expert for confirmation, you'll never know whether it will be as effective the 2nd time round...best not to take the chance ;D
I have just bought my first textile suit after years of leather only as they do seem to have improved a lot and offer the versatility that leathers dont
Choose Halvarssons as it has CE approved armour in all the right places and the adjustability so it would fit and hold the armour in place and does look well made.
Rukka do a textile suit that is entirely CE approved which I have not seen on anything else
Quote from: fred24 on April 11, 2011, 03:12:41 PM
I have just bought my first textile suit after years of leather only as they do seem to have improved a lot and offer the versatility that leathers dont
Choose Halvarssons as it has CE approved armour in all the right places and the adjustability so it would fit and hold the armour in place and does look well made.
Rukka do a textile suit that is entirely CE approved which I have not seen on anything else
My next suit is going to be Halverssons, very good kit....Rukka is great but costs the earth
yes the Rukka is expensive but is discounted - what put me off is the new fangled fastner which has to be lubricated with a special pen and made me look a right prat in the shop when it all went wrong when I was trying one on.
Also wasn't sure how it would hold together when things went pear shaped but assume it has been tested.
HG use the same fastner
has anyone ever wonder if those knobs in there shorts and t shirts are laughing at us melting in all our gear (i would just to say i wear all the gear all the time even in spain a couple of years ago when take it from me it was skinking hot 35c) i guess they are as they would think they are right and we are all stupied
As mentioned before I use an Arai lid, Rukka Jacket, and now in the summer I have gone back to my leather trousers for a while, but for the winter the Rukka jeans are the choice as they are so waterproof and warm there is no alternative.
Routemaster ... sounds like you are very lucky to be in one piece ... hope you continue to improve.