Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Steelers Quarterback in Motorcycle Accident

Big Ben was in a motorcycle accident within the last hour or so in downtown Pittsburgh. Car turned left in front of him. No helmet. No word on injuries other than a concussion and some lost teeth.

More word says a cage turned left right in front of him as he was riding through a very busy part of town on his way to the Steelers Southside practice facilty. This is one of the ways I used to go home to my Southside apartment from Three Rivers Stadium. Very congested. I wouldn't ride through there in full gear.

He is alive thank goodness.

Ryan

the old careless left turn gets another one, eh?

glad to hear he'll be ok...

No helmet huh?!

What IS IT with Super Bowl WINNING Steeler Quarterbacks that they ALWAYS seem ta come across as just a little bit...umm....GOOFY???!!!

Just askin'!

Cheers,
Dwight

Seems interesting someone that wears a helmet to work doesn't think it necessary to wear one on a motorcycle...hope all is well for him but c'mon Ben, think about it!

Wearing a lid or not is simply a personal choice as long as its legal to NOT WEAR one in your state.

All demonstrative implications of safety notwithstanding the wearing of a helmet or not is a personal CHOICE.

I note that while particiapating in a Poker Run this weekend with Derek (Salmaglie) ...virtually 98% of us were helmetless. There must have been at least 75 bikes ....maybe a few more. I would not conclude that all of those 75 are stupid people. They simply are willing to take whatever inherent risk is out there with a grain of salt without undue worry.

To be honest at times I read posts that decry or denigrate those who CHOOSE to not wear a lid and those posts seem a little bit over the top.

We all know that a helmet can be a GOOD idea perhaps but based on hot weather and a free spirit some of us will CHOOSE to go without.

Thank YOU. Its a personal CHOICE. Kinda like religion or politics. We may all CHOOSE to believe or we may not as the case may be.

Was just reading his coach recently had "a long talk" with him about not wearing helmet on his bike but wearing one at work. Was told of his contract about unsafe behaviour but riding a bike without a helmet was not in it. A pro ball players career is so short seems like you would want to stay healthy... rake in all the cash you can... then open up a helmet boutique and sell all your old helmets when you retire. He lost most of his teeth, quess he could take up hockey now and fit right in.

But, he did survive with a concussion. With a helmet, he may have survived with a broken neck. Or, he could have ended up like a departed friend of mine who was beheaded by a helmet in a crash that should have been survivable.
The risks are statistically about even, just different. So, craps, blackjack or poker? Everyone should be free to decide just which risks they want to face.

let those who ride decide. i personally choose to wear one, but there ARE those who do not...it is their right.

Take it from a guy that has seen more than his share of MC accidents. Most fatalities could have been prevented if the operator was wearing his helmet.....Getting kind of hard to notify next of kin nowadays......Angelis

The national news played up "and he was not wearing a helmet" everyone told him to wear one. I'm guessing 5 helmet references, and not one mention of what he hit. Or a reminder to check before you turn. They did show the car leaving on a flat bed, but the whole report seem to make it his fault.

Hey Angelis,
Another Okie! I was born and raised in Ardmore. Went to OU for two years before I spent 21 years in the Navy. I live in Florida now, but the Red River still flows in my veins. You will not believe it but, a person from Florida will tell you that the Florida vs Florida State rivalry is bigger than OU vs Texas. They have been playing that game since before Oklahoma was a state. Go Big Red. I heard Bevo got a STD from some Texas aggie.

Hey Angelis,
Another Okie! I was born and raised in Ardmore. Went to OU for two years before I spent 21 years in the Navy. I live in Florida now, but the Red River still flows in my veins. You will not believe it but, a person from Florida will tell you that the Florida vs Florida State rivalry is bigger than OU vs Texas. They have been playing that game since before Oklahoma was a state. Go Big Red. I heard Bevo got a STD from some Texas aggie.

Hmmm seems to me that if the cager haden't made that left turn in front of him the fact he wasn't wearing a helmet wouldn't be an issue - why isn't much being said about that.
Just the media on it's soap box again trying to save us all perhaps?

just getting that off my chest - not directed at anyone.

Its gettin sadder and sadder. MSNBC had Gary Busey on who survived a bad skull fracture in 88 I think and he was going on and on about how all the states that have freedom of choice laws regarding helmets should all repeal them.

Just what we need some bonehead %%%%sucker trying to get our lawfully elected government to regulate us.

%%%%that.

Just cause some &&&&wad celebrity cracks his skull its a good reason to repeal all the helmet laws.

You wont see this kinda attention if it is one of us that cracks his skull open and lives to tell the tale.

I'll take my chances and I want to stay free to do so here in Arizona.

I am sorry anyone suffers grievous injury and or death as a result of an accident.

I still want to choose.

Ya know, the funny thing is, I remember hearing Busey say, shortly after his accident, that he thought a helmet would have broken his neck and he was glad he wasn't wearing one.

I agree it should be a choice. I would just hope that people make an informed decision and not succumb to peer pressure.
All the L.E.O.s and EMTs that I know share Angelis' view on helmets. It's the law in NV, but I wear one when in Utah or AZ also, or anywhere it's optional.

Well then people....All I can say in that case is that's it's my CHOICE to think people who ride without a helmet are....um.....GOOFY!(there's that word again)

And even though I have to admit that when I'm at my other place in Arizona, which has no mandatory helmet laws, I have on occassion ridden without a brain-bucket on this noggin' o' mine. And, whenever I've done it, I KNOW I'm being GOOFY too, and that I'm a stupid-a$$ for letting "looking cool" override my better judgement.

Yes, CHOICE is important(I STILL think Darwin is RIGHT...Humans should "thin the heard" TOO), but EGO seems to overrule thoughtful consideration whenever this subject is brought forth. And YOU GUYS should know by now that if ANYBODY knows what EGO is.....it's ME!!!!(nope...nobody's got a bigger one[ego that is...this IS a family website after all] around here than Yours Truly)

Oh...and this "broken neck" sceanario/rationalization GB?! Relatively BOGUS! You know, like I do, that life is but a series of calculated risks, and that these calculations are based on percentages. And the "broken neck" percentage of actuality in M/C related deaths and major injuries is relatively minicule compared to HEAD TRAUMA.

(as I write this, the TV News in on and this very story in being presented...AND they're reporting that the Steeler's Quarterback has an 8 inch gash on his head....AND did you guys see the windshield of the friggin' car that he slammed his head against????)

So...please people, spare me the..."Don't tell ME how to live" ratiionale for being more stupid than we Motorcyclist already are for LOVING this dangerous-a$$ sport.

Dwight
(we're ALL "Goofballs" here...but some seem more so than others, I guess)

(oh...and I STILL think Bradshaw IS GOOFY TOO...BUT the S.O.B had a GREAT freakin' ARM, and once he learned to read defenses, became a great quarterback too...but havin' Franco Harris in the backfield with him AND havin' that Steel Curtain Defense out there on the field when HIS a$$ wasn't, SURE DIDN'T HURT)

I agree with freedom of choice and I'm choosing to wear my helmet. In fact I think I'm asking for a new modular helmet for Father's Day.

I'm from PA and a HUGE Steeler's fan...the reason they made it a big deal that he wasn't wearing a helmet was that he was a BIG supporter of the right not to wear a hemlet, and then got his face smashed in in an accident.

YOUR GONNA BLAME HIM BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE AND BREAKS THE LAW???

We might as well just get it all out on the table:

- Helmet Laws. I exercise my choice to wear one, I respect your choice not to. Novelty helmet use routinely circumvents this unenforceable joke
- Gun Control. Never owned a firearm, but I'll fight for your right to
- Abortion. Men have minimal input. It's up to the women
- Death penalty. Only exercised when conclusive DNA evidence is involved. One appeal to validate litigation, then a bullet to the back of the head
- Unions. Good prior to 1920, bad now
- Equal Opportunity. Mission accomplished, enough already
- "X" history day/week/month. Does Polish-Czech-American day for a second generation American sound stupid? You bet it does
- Separation of church and state. Home schooling. I can burn all the incense I want there
- Gay marriage. Only gays should be married
- The DaVinci Code. It's fiction folks
-- Lord of the Rings. Hobbits are not real
- Floorboards. Good.
- Brown M&M's. Bad.

I wish Big Ben a speedy recovery.

Helmet laws aside....(MY OPINION: I hate 'em)....did they say what kind of bike he was riding? Just curious...

Lee

'Roethlisberger was on his black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa....'

According to what I read, If he had a helmet on,it seems his injuries MIGHT have been less severe. I'm suprised that the Steelers let him have a bike. I remember reading in one of my ski magazines, an interview with Cal Ripkin, that he wasn't allowed to ski under his contract due to potential injuries.

Helmet, no helmet, that pesky helmet thread again.

Sky diving deaths are preventable too. Don't jump out.

I think the best policy is simply not to be born at all. Or to be born with a helmet on already and wear it everywhere. 24/7/365.

That's the trouble though, when a high profile public figure like this guy gets in a wreck the focus seems to be solely on his choice not to wear a helmet. Instead, the focus should be on the idiot driver who made the left turn into him. After all, that's the person who broke the law causing the accident. But then that's not what the safety nazis(newspaper writers) want you to read. They'd rather focus their attention on the legal rider instead of the law breaking cager. It helps them to get their agenda across.

Hey Tom...I agree with most of your "thoughtfully proposed" measures there, ol' buddy.

But, THIS soapbox of mine TODAY is ONLY gonna be about the idjets who let "lookin' cool" override their mental processes(assuming they have that ability, of course).

I actually find this a rather interesting phenomenon, especially since I assumed TRIUMPH RIDERS were juuuuuuust a little bit SMARTER than most of those..."I gotta have me a HARLEY and ride without a helmet to BE COOL" people.

Cheers,
Dwight

I could not agree more with your post Sal and pretty much took the words out of my mouth.But I would like to add this.Now Mr. Roethlisbeger my have not exercised the best of judgent but he is not the one to blame here.The brain dead driver is to blame here.So if any heat is to be applied well you know which tree I'm barking up.To any one that reads this and starts complaining on my lack of kindness to the driver in question and she may have not done this on purpose,well I really don't care if it was a lack of paying attention to road rage the results are the same.

Derek,

To most people, PERCEPTION is 9/10th of FACT today. So unfortuantely, when a famous Superbowl winning QB CHOOSES to ride sans brain-bucket and then when some idjet "law-breaker"(probably a very law-abiding individual otherwise) makes that ubiquitious left-turn right in front of him(we've ALL been or are going to be there) then the News Organizations are going to make this a "cause celebre", because he's "famous".

That's the way it works nowdays, ya know. More PEOPLE today read "PEOPLE" than the friggin' "U.S. News And World Report", my friend.

Your misanthropic friend,
Dwight

On the other hand, what if he played football without his helmet because he thought it let him see or hear better or just wasn't comfortable with it. Would the story be that he was tackled by some big mean linebacker or that he failed to avail himself of cheap and easily available protection? I'm against requiring helmets by law, but I don't see the harm in pointing out the consequences of peoples choices. It’s just too bad that helmets and seatbelts seem to be the only issues where the press is willing to do so.