It is the height of summer in Pennsylvania, and as a motorcycle rider, you undoubtedly are once more enjoying easy riding, the joy of the open road, and all the additional great things that the bike lifestyle encompasses. Whether you are a new or highly experienced rider, however, you need to be aware of the fact that absent the proper protective gear and constant vigilance, your chances of being seriously injured or dying in a cycle crash are upward of 80 percent.
Every year, thousands of riders sustain thousands of injuries, many of them serious, some of them catastrophic, and far too many of them resulting in death. Here are the three most common injuries for which you face risk.
1. Head injury
It goes without saying that the purpose of your helmet is to protect your head as much as possible during a crash. Indeed, wearing a proper helmet reduces your risk of death by 35 percent. Nevertheless, your helmet cannot and does not protect you from receiving a traumatic brain injury which, as its name implies, is a potentially catastrophic injury to your brain caused by the force of your head hitting the pavement or other hard surface. Helmet or not, the blow to your head is strong enough to cause your brain to “slosh around” inside your skull, thereby injuring its delicate cells, nerves and tissues to the point where they start to malfunction. This, in turn, could render you permanently disabled with a drastically decreased quality of life.
2. Bone fractures
Since your cycle neither envelops you nor stands on its own like a car, your body has no protection in the event of a crash other than whatever protective clothing you may be wearing at the time. If the impact does not throw you clear of the wreck, your bike will likely trap and break one of your legs and/or arms underneath it. If you are thrown clear, your legs, arms and shoulders all could break depending on what you hit with which body part.
3. Road rash
People get rashes all the time from a variety of causes, and few of them are particularly serious. The road rash you risk receiving in a bike crash, however, is considerably more serious than “normal” rashes. Here the surface of the road not only scrapes off any exposed skin as your body slides along it, but also often damages the fat and other tissues underneath your skin. The more extensive and deep your rash is, the more risk you face of infections and lasting scars.
Given the fact that operating a motorcycle requires more skill than operating a passenger vehicle, it is in your best interests to ride as safely and defensively as possible.
