This one is a touchy subject for me because I feel like it should be a law. You should have a helmet on when riding a motorcycle, though in some states it is not a requirement. My dad was one of the ones that as soon as he made it to a state where he no longer had to wear a helmet it would come off. So being back in Ohio my dad did not wear a helmet. However my dad did make sure us kids wore a helmet, so it’s not that he didn’t know how important it was he just chose not to. I think now about finding ways to fight for all states to pass it to where helmets are required.
Though it’s not certain whether or not wearing a helmet would have saved my dads life, it could have at least helped him. My dad was hit head on with a car. So if he had been wearing a helmet he would have some type of protection. This is one of those “what ifs” that I had dwelled on for so long after he passed that I had to stop dwelling on because I couldn’t keep doing that to myself and expect to be able to be the mother and wife that my family needed me to be. I also know my dad wouldn’t want it to be how I was living.
I still find myself daily wanting to do more on the matter of helmet or no helmet. So many people lose their lives due to now wearing a helmet, and if they had to wear one it would be less of a risk for so many reasons. Even those scenarios when other cars aren’t involved. When you’re riding a motorcycle you do not have as much coverage as you do when in a car, so wearing the protective gear provided for you to make sure you come home to your family shouldn’t be an option. More people should want to protect themselves against whatever can happen around them. Even if you think you’re the safest rider, there are other drivers that you have to watch out for. It only takes one bad driver, or one bad decision, or one bad lane change, to end a life and to change the world of a whole family.
So please next time you plan to go for a ride, grab that helmet. No matter how hot it is or how uncomfortable it might be, that thing could be the one thing to save your life that day. As always, looking twice saves a life. Remember that’s someone’s family member! Till next time my loves, be safe, enjoy the warm weather!
Love Alyssa
