Motorcycle safety requires using your head—inside
a helmet.
Because
we're the ones who patch up the damage once it's done, we doctors
tend to take a conservative approach to risky business. When it comes
to
motorcycles, for example, many of us just say Don't!
In reality, however, just saying No to motorcycles is probably no
more effective than just saying No to sex. Like sex, motorcycle riding
can
be fun and reasonably safe for people who approach it responsibly
and with a focus on safety. No less than the governor of my home
state,
Ann Richards, has taken up the sport recently. To become a safe rider,
governor Richards followed the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's approach
to safe motorcycling:
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||||||
Get the Helmet Habit | Ride to Live When I see a young man bicycling without a helmet, I wonder what he's thinking—or, more to the point, why neither he nor his parents is thinking. And make no mistake, sporting a naked head is a particularly male thing to do. The Centers for Disease Control report that only 20 percent of male cyclists wear a helmet. As a consequence, males are twice as likely as females to suffer brain damage in an accident. Perhaps they don't they don't know how dangerous it really is to go without a helmet. Brain damage causes the majority of deaths from injury in people under age 45, and injury is the leading cause of death in that group. More than half a million bicyclists—the largest part of them younger than 24—are admitted to emergency rooms each year. Two-thirds of those young cyclists have head injuries, and two-thirds of those who die succumb to brain injury. Of course, death isn't the only possible outcome when you take an unprotected head cycling. Each year nearly 100,000 people—about 30,000 of them children—suffer lifelong disability from brain injuries at a cost of more than $20 billion. They may have memory loss, difficulty concentrating, seizures, muscle spasms, vision loss, speech problems, anxiety and depression, sexual difficulties, and a host of other problems, physical and emotional. Medical science has learned that recovery is seldom complete from even non-life-threatening bumps on the head. Children who are hospitalized with even minor brain injuries are likely to have trouble learning, and have behavioral and physical problems. One injury to the head increases the risk for a second significant injury by three times, a second boosts risk by eight times. If you or a loved one takes a significant bump on the head—any time there's loss of consciousness; difficulty opening or focusing eyes, following commands, or speaking; or other signs of distress—it's imperative that you get to an emergency room immediately. Prompt treatment is vitally important. Even if there are no immediate symptoms, keep a watchful eye. Between 5 and 10 percent of people with serious brain injuries seem fine at first. It's
not easy to convince our sons to wear bicycle helmets. Of course,
the first step is to set a good example, but you can also point
out that top racers wear them: In most U.S. events, they're mandatory.
One way or another, though, make sure they're protected. A properly
fitting bicycle helmet reduces the risk of brain damage by nearly
90 percent!
Because
riders have observed these simple precautions, motorcycle accident
statistics have been improving steadily since 1980. Riding is a
risk, but it's one that you can use your head to reduce.
About us | Contact us | Referring physicians | Topics | Prevention | Male Health Quiz | Resources | For Women | Home
|
