I think everyone here knows that safety is paramount with our hobby. But what about outside the shop in everyday life?
I have a young son who is in a constant state of motion from the time he wakes up until his head hits the pillow at night. As with all boys that are active, there are the bumps and bruises that go with growing up. We've all been there! My son has been riding a bicycle since he was three (with training wheels), and from day one we put him in knee pads, elbow pads, gloves and a helmet. Some of our friends told us we were taking the safety equipment with him over the top. Today they are reconsidering... Every time he mounts his bike, the equipment is on.
Over the weekend, my son wanted to ride his bike. He has had his training wheels off for about nine months now, and he is pretty good. As with everything he does, it is full speed ahead, and riding his bike is no different. So, he was right in front of our house riding his bike when he took a very nasty tumble. He was moving at a pretty good clip when he lost his balance, got crossed up and was literally throw down to the ground. His only injury was a small scrape and bruise on his left cheek.
Upon looking over his safety equipment, I was startled to see what kind of impact his head could have taken in this incident. His helmet has been cracked through three of eight ribs that make up the front half of the helmet. His knee pads saw a large and deep scrape in the plastic that would have easily taken quite a chunk off of his knee. His gloves took quite an abrasion, and his elbow pad took some punishment as well. Fortunately, his body didn't!
He was shaken up pretty badly over this last spill, but he is okay. The helmets run about $40 here in the states which is one heck of a lot cheaper than a trip to the ER. My little one took one serious hit, but the equipment did it's job and protected him. Had he not been wearing head protection, this story would certainly be different! With the helmet and all of the other stuff, I think we have about $80 in his safety equipment. It has easily paid for itself several times!!
I am passing this along to you so that maybe your kids or grand kids may benefit from my son's accident and what could have just as easily been a serious head injury or worse. Think about their safety, and especially now that we are quickly approaching the holidays!
I have a young son who is in a constant state of motion from the time he wakes up until his head hits the pillow at night. As with all boys that are active, there are the bumps and bruises that go with growing up. We've all been there! My son has been riding a bicycle since he was three (with training wheels), and from day one we put him in knee pads, elbow pads, gloves and a helmet. Some of our friends told us we were taking the safety equipment with him over the top. Today they are reconsidering... Every time he mounts his bike, the equipment is on.
Over the weekend, my son wanted to ride his bike. He has had his training wheels off for about nine months now, and he is pretty good. As with everything he does, it is full speed ahead, and riding his bike is no different. So, he was right in front of our house riding his bike when he took a very nasty tumble. He was moving at a pretty good clip when he lost his balance, got crossed up and was literally throw down to the ground. His only injury was a small scrape and bruise on his left cheek.
Upon looking over his safety equipment, I was startled to see what kind of impact his head could have taken in this incident. His helmet has been cracked through three of eight ribs that make up the front half of the helmet. His knee pads saw a large and deep scrape in the plastic that would have easily taken quite a chunk off of his knee. His gloves took quite an abrasion, and his elbow pad took some punishment as well. Fortunately, his body didn't!
He was shaken up pretty badly over this last spill, but he is okay. The helmets run about $40 here in the states which is one heck of a lot cheaper than a trip to the ER. My little one took one serious hit, but the equipment did it's job and protected him. Had he not been wearing head protection, this story would certainly be different! With the helmet and all of the other stuff, I think we have about $80 in his safety equipment. It has easily paid for itself several times!!
I am passing this along to you so that maybe your kids or grand kids may benefit from my son's accident and what could have just as easily been a serious head injury or worse. Think about their safety, and especially now that we are quickly approaching the holidays!
) but were I to find a trike or reverse trike just sitting around unloved, I'd have a brain bucket on in a heartbeat ... even though Hawaii doesn't require one.
