Thunder Roads LA MS July | Page 28

DRESS FOR THE CRASH BY GLENN C. MCGOVERN MOTORCYCLE TRIAL ATTORNEY AND MSF BASIC INSTRUCTOR [email protected] • 1-800-721-3992 About Glenn C. McGovern: Glenn is an AV Martindale Hubbell rated trial lawyer, the highest rating for ability and ethics; Louisiana Super Lawyer and AVVO 10 rated attorney; Certified M.S.F. Basic Motorcycle Instructor and held a F.I.M. motocross racing license and raced in the A.M.A. Amateur Nationals and in Europe.; Teaches trial advocacy and is a frequent author on trial techniques and motorcycle litigation techniques; On the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association for Justice Vice-President with G.N.O. A.B.A.T.E., advocates and lobbies in the legislature for motorcyclists Handles cases all over the state of Louisiana and is admitted to all federal and the U.S. Supreme Court. O ne of the qualities of a good motorcyclist is he/she anticipates hazards. In this age of distracted drivers with the rising number of annual motorcycle/car crashes and fatalities growing each year in Louisiana, it has never been more important to dress for the inevitable crash. If you dress properly, you can save yourself extreme pain, large medical expenses, and survive the crash with few injuries. It is up to you how you manage how you prepare for the crash. We cannot always predict other distracted automobile drivers violations of your motorcycle’s right-of-way. But we can minimize the damages to our bodies based on how we dress for the crash. I can truthfully say I would not be writing this if I have not worn the best protective gear I could purchase at the time of each crash. Yes, I have suffered some injuries in those crashes, but I quickly recovered with minor fractures and with no permanent disability. I have analyzed each crash I see with clients and my own crashes. After each experience I have added safety gear to my personal protective gear. Over time , technology has provided better and better options each passing year. For example, I would not be here if I did not wear my Leatt neck brace , Leatt chest protector, and Shoei full coverage helmet when in 2014 when I crashed from a jump at the World Veterans Championship. Another example is I started to wear knee braces after a 9-month recovery from an ACL injury. The new braces for motocross racing are of carbon fiber and light We all will make some mistakes in judgment. Racing is a lot safer than today’s urban areas with distracted cell phone drivers texting as they go. We have to expect the unexpected. We have to prepare for these inevitable crashes on the streets where the chances of catastrophic injury is much greater than ever. I get really upset when a motorcyclist is injured or killed due to a motorist that usually claims, “I never saw the motorcycle” and fails to yield. The results can range from bone fractures, concussion, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), amputation of limbs or death. Proper riding gear will help mitigate these injuries. WHAT EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ME ANALYZING MOTORCYCLE CRASHES I have been practicing law and handling motorcycle crash cases for 40 years. I have also raced motorcycles in the U.S. and Europe since 1973. I have seen a father die who just tipped over, and hit his chest with the handlebar, fracturing a rib that shattered with a piece of rib puncturing his heart. I have seen motorcycle riders killed in medium speed crashes in dirt when their substandard D.O.T. approved helmet strap failed, that was securely fastened. On the other hand, I have seen motorcyclists survive terrible crashes with the motorcycle going into the interior compartment of a car through the passenger car door, and the motorcyclists walked away with no injuries. The driver did not do well. Why? Because the motorcyclist had dressed for the crash with the best protective riding gear like I show in the attached photos. This includes a full coverage helmet, protective pants that fasten to the protective jacket, full finger leather gloves, boots above the ankle with ankle supports, a visor on the helmet, and a full protective jacket with CE certified foam protective spine and elbow pieces sewn in the protective jacket. I remember a Honda Gold-Wing female rider that went down after a tractor-trailer dropped an large metal object on the highway in front of the Gold-Wing motorcycle, crushing the entire front end. The rider survived a 65 m.p.h. crash/slide on concrete with little road rash and minor fractures. How did she do it? She was dressed well with a complete Joe Rocket nylon mesh jacket with CE spine protector, elbow protectors and pants with CE knee pads, full leather boots, full finger leather gloves and a full coverage helmet with visor. All this gear was totally destroyed, but the rider survived with little permanent injury and few skin abrasions. How would this rider have made out with no safety gear and a novelty hel- met? I have another client, a female passenger on a motorcycle with no safety gear except a cheap D.O.T. half helmet. The poorly designed partial helmet had an inadequate chin strap that allowed the helmet to slide up as the wind picked up, lifting the front of the helmet, jerking her head and causing her to fall off the motorcycle at over 65 m.p.h. The lady passenger was treated at a Level 4 Trauma Unit in New Orleans and then treated in a special burn unit in Baton Rouge. The medical b ills were over $230,000. The scarring was over the lady’s entire body and all of the scarring was permanent. CAREFULLY CONSIDER YOUR PROTECTIVE CLOTHING OPTIONS IN HOT AND COLD WEATHER I see most motorcyclists wear little or no protective gear other than a helmet. No gloves or useless partial finger gloves (which are worthless in preventing an ungloved finger), no eye protection (other than sunglasses which are not legal nor work to protect the eyes from rocks), flip-flops or sneakers (which do nothing to protect the feet and ankle), short sleeve shirt ( no road rash protection or elbow impact protection) and short pants ( which offer no knee, leg and skin protection). This seems to be especially common in hot weather. There are better options even in hot weather. THE OPTIONS EXIST THAT ARE MORE COMFORTABLE THAN SHORTS AND SANDALS ETC. You need to be comfortable when you ride to be able to concentrate on the task of driving. If you get hit in the face /eye by a rock, stung by bee on your chest, or large bug, it is not comfortable and can cause a crash. What about hot weather? Again, there are options. There are synthetic underwear the protects your skin and actually allows you to ride cooler in hot weather. Some of these clothes have protective Kevlar areas. A relatively cheap option is to wear a synthetic mesh combination pants and jacket as shown herein. Note the jacket and pants have fasteners to lock the pants and jacket in place in a crash with a zipper on the pants and at the bottom of the jacket as shown. Also ,many, such as the Joe Rocket combination shown have protective pads for the spine, elbow and knees that are CE certified to be effective in crashes. Always look for this level of certified protection in motorcycle clothing. These jackets have a zip out nylon liner that can be used in wet weather or removed in hot weather. This outfit is a good compromise 26 Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana/Mississippi | July 2018 | www.thunderroadslams.com between comfort and safety. In cold weather, you need to stay warm to be able to concentrate. A full leather jacket and pants offer good skin protection, but little warmth and protection from hypothermia. Wind chill increases with your cruising speed so this is important. Insulated long underwear, full coverage insulated riding suits, electric riding gear can make what would be a unsafe miserable ride enjoyable. Insulated gloves, rain suits that don’t flap in the wind, and full above the ankle waterproof boots offer greater protection and comfort. No detail regarding your protective gear is too small not to consider. For example, I had a client went 4 blocks with no gloves on. A drunk driver crossed his path causing a crash of his BMW motorcycle. Instead of wearing his full fingered leather gloves with the pinky sewed together to the adjacent finger and knuckle protectors, he had a naked hand that one of the fingers had the skin peel off away from degloving his hand. The injury was permanent and could never be restored with surgery. The rider lost his chosen profession as a skilled metal worker. Even a simple glove is very important. Many offer finger separation protections with digits sewn together, knuckle protection and wrist protection. Many may say this level of glove protection is not needed by a street rider. However, there are no distracted cell phone drivers in automobiles and trucks on a race track. We street riders have to deal with these added dangers, every mile of every trip, every day. We also can suffer brain damage from rotational acceleration from low speed impacts. Helmet companies such as the 6D street helmet shown can protect you from the major cause of brain damage of rotational acceleration. 6D puts out their crash data-unlike several other major helmet companies that advertise that their “MIPS” systems supposedly do the job, but they do not publish their helmet test data. (I will bet my money and safety with the 6D helmets until other helmets make full disclosure of their helmet crash test data.) CONCLUSION: YOU NEED TO BUILD A MOTORCYCLE WARDROBE FOR EVERY WEATHER CONDITION There is no such thing as a universal riding outfit. A T-shirt, tennis shoes and novelty helmets (i.e. uncertified non-D.O.T. non-SNELL certified helmets are really unsafe). It depends on the riding mission and what the weather conditions require. Leather is too hot in summer for most missions. Synthetic two-piece mesh outfits provide a good compromise in hot weather. Such gear is miserable in cold or wet weather. A good rain-suit that can be carried is money well spent for your comfort and safety. There are many options in gloves and riding boots for every mission. The new inflatable vests for the street and track show much promise in enhance protection. There are more options available every year. Consider them carefully. There is an old saying, “There are bold and old motorcyclists, but there are no old, bold motorcyclists.” Wearing adequate protective gear is important to your comfort, safety and surviving a crash, so you can be the oldest motorcycle rider in the nursing home! HELMET BOOTS 6D invented the helmet that protects against rotational acceleration brain damages with its patented suspension system. Copied now by others but never duplicated. It’s the best. Triumph boots offer good all round street/ touring protection. Dainese boots offer much more for street and racing at high speeds. GLOVES PANTS Gloves are available for various riding conditions. From left to right, for street, for racing with wrist/pinky finger protection and for insulated for cold weather. Nylon mesh pants with CE certified knee protectors and fastening system to fasten pants to jacket to prevent road rash from jacket creeping up in a slide/crash. JACKET FASTENERS Nylon mesh jackets are a good compromise for hot weather and road rash/crash armor built in protection with pants to jacket fastening system. Fastening system to secure jacket to pants and fastening zipper on pants to jacket to prevent road rash. www.thunderroadslams.com | July 2018 | Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana/Mississippi 27