probably have lived to see his 18th birthday.
He crashed on the way to school one
morning and we all heard the news at
assembly the next day that he had died.
We would never see him again.
Yet the other three or four kids who had
motorcycles then continued to ride to school and
home again at the end of the day... helmetless.
Crazy, unfathomable times.
When the law was changed to make them
compulsory the helmet industry stepped up a notch,
and one of my first “glamour” lids was basically an
open-face helmet which had attachment studs set
into the front where a clip-on full-face panel could
be attached. I painted around the edges of the
helmet and clip-on so as to make it harder to spot.
It served me well until I bought my first real
full-face helmet, which was pretty much a
bottom line job but, hey, after the addition of
some taped pin-striping and a Castrol sticker
it looked just swell. Through my years of riding,
which now number 47 years, helmets have saved
me serious injury four times. And had I been
helmetless whilst involved in my most serious
unplanned dismounting I would have been killed.
Simple as that.
The impact damaged the front and left of the
thing and rendered it no longer usable... and I had
concussion for about four days. And while I may
have had concussion I had no doubts at all about
what had assisted me in staying aboard planet
earth, and today I just can’t get my head around
the times I used to ride without one. Mind you, I
heard the other day about a couple of lads who
had gone online somewhere to complain about the
fact they were legally compulsory. One bemoaned
that it should be the rider’s choice, no one else’s. If
he did not wish to wear a helmet then so be it. And
about a week ago a couple of young guys went
tearing up a nearby street shirtless and helmetless
in the searing heat aboard a crazy little scooter.
Probably figured a short burst around the block
“no cops around” wouldn’t hurt.
Oh yes, it could.
I have this terrible vision of a helmetless rider
being unloaded by a sudden impact and issuing
his final words “uh oh”.
Short ride, on or off the tarseal... put it on.
Motorcycles
for sale
Workshop
& Parts
Gear &
Accessories
Botany Honda MOTORCYCLES
9 Trugood Dr, East Tamaki, Auckland
(09) 274 2727 // botanyhonda.co.nz