I rode a few motorcycles in my day. I owned a 500 BSA twin, and then a 4-cylinder 750 Suzuki screamer. I rode a mile or two (or three, or four or...) over the posted speed limit.
BUT....
I always wore a helmet, and I always wore protective clothing - even if it was 100 degrees out. I took a few spills (due to the careless driving habits of others around me), and walked away from them all with nothing more than damaged protective equipment.
And when I got kids, I stopped riding.
Meanwhile...
- SI.comPITTSBURGH (AP) -- Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl championship, broke his jaw and nose in a motorcycle crash Monday in which he was not wearing a helmet.
Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition, Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital said before surgery.
The player's agent, Leigh Steinberg, described the injuries to The Associated Press and said he did not know if there was further damage.
"He was talking to me before he left for the operating room," Jones said. "He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he's very stable."
****
The 24-year-old Roethlisberger was without a helmet, police said. He has said he likes to ride without one, a habit that once prompted a lecture from Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher.
Roethlisberger was on his black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa -- the company calls it the world's fastest bike for legal street riding _ and heading toward an intersection on the edge of downtown. A Chrysler New Yorker traveling in the opposite direction took a left turn and collided with the motorcycle, and Roethlisberger was thrown, police said.
The other car was driven by a 62-year-old woman, police said. They didn't immediately release her name and no charges were filed.
***
In May 2005, Cowher warned Roethlisberger about safe riding after Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was injured in a motorcycle accident. Winslow tore knee ligaments and was lost for the season.
Other athletes injured on motorcycles during their careers include basketball's Jason Williams, skiing's Hermann Maier and auto racing's Dario Franchitti.
Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle. He has pointed out Pennsylvania's state law requiring helmets to be worn was repealed in September 2003.
"He talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."
Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.
Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."
Are there consequences to this other than the injury? Check it out.
- USA TodayRoethlisberger is under contract through the 2009 season. He earned nearly $9.5 million in salary and bonuses in 2005. The NFL's standard player contract stipulates that players "will not engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury." Teams have several avenues they can travel to recover money they have paid the player for a violation
Whatever...
I hope he had fun.
- Bill
The last *%$# who did that to me tried to drive away from the scene of the accident. Fortunately they saw me with my head popping up from the pavement, reading the license number. Another Good Samaritan came by and dropped me his business card as witness to the sociopathic act. I cost her...
I'f you've never been there, you don't know how that feels. I'm always amazed how little I feel until the next day.