Why don\u2019t some motorcyclists wear helmets?<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0How can you expose yourself in an open vehicle — traveling at high speeds — and not worry about the damage you would sustain if you were propelled like a missile and hit your head?<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0Is it the \u201ccool\u201d factor, the macho factor, that makes people shun helmets?<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0Jayne Zabrowski, my talented and indispensable paralegal, got a little first-hand insight into the helmet issue recently, on the banks of Lake Michigan.<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0Here\u2019s her story in her own words:<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0<\/em>I met a guy walking his dog on the beach yesterday. We started talking about things and motorcycles came up. \u00a0I asked if he wore a helmet when he rode. \u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>He said, “No.” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>I asked, “Why not?” <\/em><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>His response: \u201cWhen I don’t wear a helmet and I am riding my motorcycle, I feel like the coolest guy around. When I wear a helmet, I feel like I am a big weenie.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>I responded: \u201cNo, you are a big weenie when you are lying intubated in a hospital bed with a brain injury because you thought you were too cool.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>Jayne realizes that the man she encountered may have been taken aback by her tough-love comments.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0\u201cBut as I was thinking about the conversation, I realized that is why many people don’t wear a helmet…whether it be biking, motorcycle riding, \u00a0skiing, etc….too \u2018cool\u2019 for a helmet,\u201d Jayne said. \u201cMaybe they should spend a day with a brain injury and see how \u2018cool\u2019 that feels.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n \u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thought he was cool. Several years ago he made headlines when he almost died after being thrown from his motorcycle and hitting his head. He wasn\u2019t wearing a helmet.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0Now Roethlisberger is in the news again. In a disgraceful case, the quarterback allegedly brought an intoxicated college student into a bar\u2019s bathroom and had relations with her, while his bodyguards kept her friends at bay outside the door.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0He won\u2019t be charged criminally in the case, but the Steelers and National Football League are expected to take disciplinary action against him.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0Repeated brain injury, like the trauma from the bike accident and the four concussions that Roethlisberger sustained playing football, can change a person\u2019s behavior. And not for the better.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0How cool is that?<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why don\u2019t some motorcyclists wear helmets? \u00a0How can you expose yourself in an open vehicle — traveling at high speeds — and not worry about the damage you would sustain if you were propelled like a missile and hit your head? \u00a0Is it the \u201ccool\u201d factor, the macho factor, that makes people shun helmets? \u00a0Jayne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5,544,542,117,545,543],"class_list":["post-362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-accident-brain-injury","tag-ben-roethlisberger","tag-brain-injury-and-motorcycles","tag-helmets","tag-jayne-zabrowski","tag-pittsburgh-steelers"],"yoast_head":"\n