Roethlisberger in motorcycle wreck

[BDR]

Whoa, I think that's a paradox or something ...

r:>)

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

It wasn't Ben's fault however johnny, some old lady pulled right in front of him. Also, if he was goin really fast, they would have scraped his face off the ground. Hopefully he learned a lesson from the crash.

And, mr. atomikenrtia, please don't call the Herald a bitch, it's unkind. You're just pissed because soccer sucks and is boring.

stay out of it, he made a wrong assumption, told me to fuck off cuz he thought i was going to start "steeler bashing" like it's against the law to say i hate the steelers.. when I wasn't - and if you would read that you'd see Im fucking right.. so stay the fuck out of it

[bassist_25]

I consider myself a libertarian, so I believe that it's a persons right to choose to wear a helmet or not. I also believe that the insurance company has a right to deny your claim if you are injured due to not wearing a helmet. I always wore a helmet when I road dirtbikes, and there's no law governing the woods. I would wear a helmet if I road on the street. If the seatbelt laws were revoked, I'd still wear one. I also believe that drugs should be decriminalized, but I still know that cocaine can screw up your life.

I think what causes most motorcycle accidents is equipment failure. The nut behind the handlebars is defective.
I think you need to be a certain kind of guy to drive something that goes 160mph with only about 30 square inches of rubber touching the road. It's risky behavior in and of itself, and therefore, when you wreck, it's not a tragedy, it's reality. "Oh, it's a real shame... Young guy set the bike down on a curve, doing 110. He's only 20, and now he'll never walk again. What a tragedy."

I hate to generalize, because it almost sounds like it's the same as being racist, ageist, etc., but in my experience, most people that ride "cruiser" style bikes are very respectful of traffic laws and are excellent riders. In my experience, many sport-bike riders ride like fucking assholes. If someone comes up behind me on a Ninja, I know that I'm probably going to get passed at 140 mph in a no-passing zone nonetheless by some dingleberry wearing shorts and a t-shirt so his road-rash is even 5x worse when he eventually goes down (hint: bikers wear leather for a reason, and it's not just to look cool).

Again, I don't mean to offend anybody who rides a sport bike, because I'm sure there are many good riders who ride sport bikes, but majority of the ones I've come across act like traffic laws don't apply them.

[f.sciarrillo]

I consider myself a libertarian, so I believe that it's a persons right to choose to wear a helmet or not. I also believe that the insurance company has a right to deny your claim if you are injured due to not wearing a helmet. I always wore a helmet when I road dirtbikes, and there's no law governing the woods. I would wear a helmet if I road on the street. If the seatbelt laws were revoked, I'd still wear one. I also believe that drugs should be decriminalized, but I still know that cocaine can screw up your life.

I think what causes most motorcycle accidents is equipment failure. The nut behind the handlebars is defective.
I think you need to be a certain kind of guy to drive something that goes 160mph with only about 30 square inches of rubber touching the road. It's risky behavior in and of itself, and therefore, when you wreck, it's not a tragedy, it's reality. "Oh, it's a real shame... Young guy set the bike down on a curve, doing 110. He's only 20, and now he'll never walk again. What a tragedy."

I hate to generalize, because it almost sounds like it's the same as being racist, ageist, etc., but in my experience, most people that ride "cruiser" style bikes are very respectful of traffic laws and are excellent riders. In my experience, many sport-bike riders ride like fucking assholes. If someone comes up behind me on a Ninja, I know that I'm probably going to get passed at 140 mph in a no-passing zone nonetheless by some dingleberry wearing shorts and a t-shirt so his road-rash is even 5x worse when he eventually goes down (hint: bikers wear leather for a reason, and it's not just to look cool).

Again, I don't mean to offend anybody who rides a sport bike, because I'm sure there are many good riders who ride sport bikes, but majority of the ones I've come across act like traffic laws don't apply them.

I am a libertarian as well, but, I think that a person should have enough common sense to wear said helmet while operating said motorcycle. It the considerate thing to do. I mean think of the family if they would have been scraping bens body parts off the street with a shovel. It would have been heartbreaking enough to attend the funeral; it would have been a lot more heart breaking if the casket was closed ...

[Banned]

In Las Vegas the betting line on winning the Super Bowl for the Steelers went from 8 to 1 before the accident to 20 to 1 now.

[bassist_25]

I am a libertarian as well, but, I think that a person should have enough common sense to wear said helmet while operating said motorcycle. It the considerate thing to do. I mean think of the family if they would have been scraping bens body parts off the street with a shovel. It would have been heartbreaking enough to attend the funeral; it would have been a lot more heart breaking if the casket was closed ...

That was my point.

[f.sciarrillo]

I am a libertarian as well, but, I think that a person should have enough common sense to wear said helmet while operating said motorcycle. It the considerate thing to do. I mean think of the family if they would have been scraping bens body parts off the street with a shovel. It would have been heartbreaking enough to attend the funeral; it would have been a lot more heart breaking if the casket was closed ...

That was my point.

So we both said the same. It was just worded differently.

did anyone hear that he walked out of the hospital at midnight last night ?

[onegunguitar]

It wasn't Ben's fault however johnny, some old lady pulled right in front of him.

Rob, it was Ben's fault that he was retarded enough to ride without a helmet. Motorcycles are dangerous machines — simple as that. Those who do not take every precaution for safety — personal safety and the safety of others — are irresponsible riders, period.

I would never want to burden my family with having to change my diapers because I was too thick to realize that pavement vs. skull equals broken skull every time. Wear protective gear. This isn't rocket science.

r:>)

If he was riding on an expired permit(like they previously said) he would be at fault because he's not allowed to ride on a public highway,period. Plus,if he was riding with a learners permit,he has to wear a helmet.If the permit issue is true,I wouldn't be surprised if that lady he hit sues him.

[songsmith]

I think I need to clarify. I think you should ride without a helmet if you want. I just get to make fun of you if you scramble your eggs. If you do something dangerous, you are assuming a risk. Sometimes you win, sometimes the risk does. If you skydive, and the chute malfunctions, that's not a terrible shame, that's something you knew could happen. You took a chance, and lost. Any repercussions of your decision are YOUR fault, and you have no right to blame anyone else. I hate it when people eff up, then minimize it and blame someone else.
I really don't have a problem with motorcyclists per se. If I weren't so accident-prone myself, I'd have one... I just realize up front I'm not a good candidate for that kind of thing.---------->JMS

[facingwest]

I really hope he's ok. No matter what happened, Ben has been asset to thte team. Let him get better and we'll see how everthing goes. He's lucky to be alive. BRING A SECOND RING HOME THIS YEAR BROTHER!!! I will see that game for sure!!! Steelers are my long haul favorite team and don't want to see anything happen to any of them.

[f.sciarrillo]

HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, PITSBURGHS GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL !!

There is talk that this might be Cowhers last season, I think they will make it two in a row and let him leave with a bigger smile on his face ...

[KMFDM ROB]

To me, Ben riding without a helmet, is just another example of NFL players wiping their asses with their contracts. It's complete bull. It's in his contract to not do things like this, he shouldn't have been doing it.

I also heard about the permit thing. To me, that's just down right wrong on his part. How hard would it be for him to get an official license? I don't know about this for sure, so I can't say.

Other than me thinking what he did is bullshit (even if it wasn't his fault the lady and him wrecked) I still hope he gets better, and goes back to playing with a full recovery.

[FatVin]

We forget that Big Ben is what 23? and therefore a dumbass who thinks he's going to live forever.

I saw on the news today that he's gonna get a ticket, several in fact, fine the Steelers aren't gonna take money that they might legally be entitled to, okay, his knees aren't too badly hurt, thank god.

His face is bad off but think about it, he proabably wasn't gonna go anywhere near contact untill very late in camp anyway

Pain heals, chick dig scars but Super Bowl rings last forever

Ben will back!!!! That's the important thing!!!!

so at 20 to 1 take the bet, 8 to 1 is still fair odds in my book this doesn't change anything.

Songsmith said it...

I think you should ride without a helmet if you want. I just get to make fun of you if you scramble your eggs. If you do something dangerous, you are assuming a risk. Sometimes you win, sometimes the risk does.

that's my $.02

[Keifer]

If helmets are going to be optional from now on, I can't LOGICALLY explain how seat belts can be manditory. Rendell is an idiot. Vote for Bert!

Now that I think about it, there is no logical or scientific application to law. That's why those people who have poor math skills tend to seek professions as lawyers, judges, and cops.

You got my vote.

[rreihart]

I totally agree that seatbelt laws are virtually invalidated when you are allowed to ride a bike without a helmet. I also agree that Rendell is an idiot.

However, the sad reality is that our FEDERAL government holds STATE highway money (federal money given to states for highway maintenance) as ransom in order for states to comply with federal interests. Federal legislation is solely responsible for the drinking age being 21 in all 50 states, seatbelts being mandatory on some level in all 50 states and the legal limit for BAC to be set at .08.

When big brother wants something done, he grabs little brother by the balls (or wallet) and forces him into submission, ultimately always getting his own way. Our states lose their sense of autonomy more and more every year as our federal government keeps growing into this greedy monster that wants to rule our states, micro-manage us and police the entire world. It's just not right on so many levels.

[byndrsn]

I didn’t read every post on here, so I may be repeating some things. But I hope to enlighten some of you “non-riders” out there.

First about Ben: He didn’t have a permit or a license and was riding on a bike with an expired inspection. He broke all the laws – PERIOD! Even if Ben were to get his license, he would still have to wear the helmet for 2 years before he could make the decision not to wear one or take a safety course. The bottom line is that no one wants to see uneducated and inexperienced riders trying to make decisions (without any basis for making an educated decision).

Helmets vs. Seatbelts? Bikers got together and played the political game for 30 years to get the lids off of our heads. Motorists could try to do the same thing!! But more importantly – Seatbelts save more lives than helmets. Not only that but seatbelts very rarely are the cause of more severe injuries where helmets on the other hand can be the cause of very severe injuries and even death. Do you know that in some states it is illegal to drive your car while wearing a motorcycle helmet? Do you know why? Because it interferes with your vision and hearing. Hmmmm, think about that – with decreased hearing and vison, helmets can also cause accidents for motorcyclists. And not only because of the reduction in vision and sight, but there are also reports of motorcyclists wrecking their bikes due to fatigue; just think of how much heat it trapped on top of your head on a hot summer day!!

Speaking of wearing helmets while driving a car; did you know that head injuries make up only 20% of serious injuries to motorcyclists, but they account for 90% of all car injuries. There is something to think about.

My personal stance on helmets, seatbelts, airbags, etc. is this: If there is absolutely no chance that the safety device can cause severe injuries – then the government can mandate what they like. But, if there is even a 1% chance that a safety device can cause an injury, then they have no right telling adults living in a supposedly free society that they MUST wear or use that safety device.

Back to Ben; Did any of you think that maybe it was lucky that he was not wearing a helmet? DID anyone think that if he were in the same accident and had a helmet on that he might be in a lot worse shape? First it would depend on what kind of helmet because there are a lot of different styles of helmets that are DOT approved. Then take into consideration that most riders don’t buy helmet that fits their heads properly – instead they buy for looks and comfort. Either way though, I want you to think about the fact that helmets are only good at protecting your skull at speeds up to about 14 mph. That’s it!! Motorcycle helmets are tested by being dropped on an anvil from a height of six feet, the equivalent of a 13.66-mph impact. If you ride at speeds less than 14 mph and are involved only in accidents involving stationary objects, you're golden. A typical motorcycle accident, however, would be a biker traveling at, say, 30 mph, and being struck by a car making a left turn at, maybe, 15 mph. That's an effective cumulative impact of 45 mph. Assume the biker is helmet-clad, and that he is struck directly on the head. The helmet reduces the blow to an impact of 31.34 mph. Still enough to kill him. The collisions that helmets cushion effectively--say, seven-mph motorcycles with seven-mph cars--are not only rare but eminently avoidable.

Another reason helmets don't work: An object breaks at its weakest point. Some helmet advocates argue that while helmets may not reduce the overall death rate, they prevent death due to head trauma. Jonathan Goldstein, a professor of economics at Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, wondered how this could be. If fatal head traumas were decreasing, then some other kind of fatal injury must be rising to make up the difference. Applying his expertise in econometrics to those aforementioned CDC statistics, Goldstein discovered what was happening. In helmet-law states, there exists a reciprocal relationship between death due to head trauma and death due to neck injury. That is, a four-pound helmet might save the head, but the force is then transferred to the neck. Goldstein found that helmets begin to increase one's chances of a fatal neck injury at speeds exceeding 13-mph, about the same impact at which helmets can no longer soak up kinetic energy. So, who knows – maybe Ben could have a broken neck instead of a broken face and ego. I wonder if he would be able to play this year with a broken neck?

I saw some talk on here about sport bike riders. Don’t you think that a helmet makes these guys feel more invincible? In 2004, in Philadelphia County there were 19 motorcycle fatalities. Out of the 19, 17 were sport bikes and 2 were Harley’s. And 17 were wearing helmets and 2 were not. And 2 were licensed and 17 were not. The stats I saw didn’t put together whether the sport bike riders wore helmets or if they were licensed or if the Harley riders were licensed or wore helmet or whatever, but I think I could guess fairly accurately which ones were which. And I feel the need to agree with Paul – not all, but a good many sport bike riders and reckless and don’t have any respect for the machines that they are riding.

The helmet is not the issue here. Ben should have had an inspected bike, a valid license or permit (even with a permit he would have been required to wear the helmet) and the lady should have yielded to his right of way. People should be more outraged about car drivers hurting and killing motorcyclists by not obeying basic traffic laws. According to the Second International Congress on Automobile Safety, the car driver is at fault in more than 70 percent of all car/motorcycle collisions. A typical accident occurs when a motorist illegally makes a left turn into the path of an oncoming motorcycle, turning the biker into an unwilling hood ornament.

LET THOSE THAT RIDE DECIDE!!!

[RobTheDrummer]

You know, Ben is young and a superstar, he's invincible and above the law....hope he learns his lesson.