Motorcycle Saftey

As the riding season for motorcycles come to a close, I would like to talk about what I think a lot of riders sometimes ignore; which is of course motorcycle saftey. When a person first learns how to ride a motorcycle, he or she is more attuned to what is going on around them; just like when a teen first learns to drive. Sure, a beginner may make some mistakes like forgetting to shift down to first gear when he or she stops or taking a turn too wide (can be very dangerous but most riders will learn quickly on how to turn sharper). Not only is a beginner more aware, but he or she is also more likely to wear a helmet and proper clothing everytime they ride. But as the years pass, that rider is most likely not to wear any protective gear, most noteably a helmet. I tend to see it more with the cruisers, but I don't know anything for fact. But anyways, I see people on motorcycles without helmets and I can't think about how much pain he or she would be in if anything goes wrong and they happen to slide along the cement or hit an object. If he or she survives an event like that, more than likely serious injury including brain damage or severe road rash to the face. I can empathize with people about how inconvient a helmet is, but the level of risk is really high if one doesn't wear a helment. I can testify to this because I have got into an accident myself. Three days after I got my brand new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, I was coming home from work at around 9:00 PM. I was in a hurry to make a green light because the mall stop lights dont recognize motorcycles, and as I was going around 40 out the outer streets of the parking lot, a car pulls out infront me (he didn't stop at the stop sign) and I lock up the brakes and laid my bike down and I slid across the pavement. I immediately got up, ran towards my motorcycle to see the damage, and then got angry about what happened. I wasn't angry at the driver because I knew I was going too fast and he knew that he should have stopped. The driver, though, stopped, helped me pick up my motorcycle and then gave me a ride home. Once I arrived at my house, my dad took me to the hospital, some nurses cleaned up my road rash, and then went home that same night. I had some pretty bad roadrash my both my front lower legs, my left hand (the palm and backside), my right elbow, and also tore the tip of my left middle finger up as well. I was out of school for three days but that was it. Anyways, the helmet I had basically saved my face and I am thankful that I was wearing it. I got a new bike now and it is a ZX-6R and it is in candy blue (basically the same bike I crashed but in a different color). So the moral of the story is that wearing a helmet may be a nuisance but noone ever plans to crash and you dont know when you need it before it's too late.

Here's what my motorcycle looks like: