broken bones

[gumby302ho]

 Just want to say that I have a different outlook on things and want to pass on my new found views. I have been riding dirt longer than street, I have always just worn the basics, Helmet boots gloves eye protection and kidney belt when needed. Yes I have wiped out many times when most often it is my pride that got bruised. On may 24th I set the bike down from a front tire washout in the dark not going fast, front is a little worn but I was straight vertical when front just went out, it happened so fast I could not react, bla bla bla. From a small little spill I broke three ribs and punctured my lung. Been in and out of hospital twice with fluid buildup on my lung and three chest tubes later I am still very much busted up. I cant ever go through this again and when I get better I will be buying full body armor set up for dirt riding and wont be pissing around with a worn front tire either. Im 46 and it took me this long to wake up. Dont go through what I am going through, protect yourself to the max.

[Mark Olson]

oh man , been there done that. 

hang in there and wear all the gear all the time =ATGATT

remember "if you don't limp , ya ain't shit"

[Arnie]

Sorry to hear about both your accident and your injuries.

What I don't understand is how body armour, short of a metal suit from King Arthur's court, would have prevented your broken ribs, and resultant punctured lung.  If you hit hard enough to break ribs into two (or more) pieces, how would plastic and foam armour have helped?

Arnie

[yamaha fj rider]

Sorry to hear that happened. Second gear was the worst for me getting hurt. Just fast enough to transfer the energy needed to break things. Third gear and you seemed to slide and not get as hurt. A chest protector may have helped but it will never hurt to have one on. Getting hit by the bike is the worst, insult to injury. Hope you heal soon! Glad it was not worse.

Kurt

[FJmonkey]

Major bummer, sorry to hear about your unscheduled dismount and resulting injuries. The armor will help in the event their is a next time. It may not seem like much but anything that distributes the force of an impact over a larger area will reduce injury.

[Fj.itis]

Yep....stress = force/area, the more area you have to distribute force the less stress you have for the same amount of force. Armor is a great idea!

[Capn Ron]

Always hate to hear this sort of thing, but happy to know you're on the mend.  Seems like cracked or broken rib(s) are inevitable in a dismount.  My brother had them, George had them, you had them...and I think I might have had a mild rib crack with my low-speed low-side.  Seems there ought to be something that can distribute the load.  I like this thinking...contrary as it is to this view:

"There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads. We chose not to avoid doing those activities but, instead, to come up with some sort of device to help us enjoy our head-cracking lifestyles. And even that didn't work because not enough people were wearing them so we had to come up with the helmet law. Which is even stupider, the idea behind the helmet law being to preserve a brain whose judgment is so poor, it does not even try to avoid the cracking of the head it's in."  -Jerry Seinfeld-

[ribbert]

Yep....stress = force/area, the more area you have to distribute force the less stress you have for the same amount of force. Armor is a great idea!

Armour also deflects things that would otherwise snag.

Noel

[Zari]

Can't go wrong with a Jerry Seinfeld quote! Loved it.

Well I know all of us are gear wearing riders. And it seems the Armour inside the jacket will not guarantee to prevent bone breakage, but it sure can help considering the alternative. I recall Mike Ramos had a sort of Armor vest, separate from his outer jacket. Wonder how that may fair during "certain" dismounts?

Craig