My son was in a motorcycle accident today

[motorcyclinmama]

My 17 year old son was in an accident today. He was on his way home from Ross (store) on his 1982 Yamaha 550. He was coming around some s corners, he was going about 42 to 45 in a 35 mph zone (according to him, the cops and the witnesses) and hit a dirt patch. His bike slid and stood up straight. He hit the guard rail and slid down the rail. He hit the ground and slid and rolled. He got up and chased his bike. When he saw his bike stop, he sat down and passed out.

The other drivers stopped to help. A woman asked my son when he woke up who to call, so she called my husband. My 13 year old came to my work and told me Jason was in an accident. I went to the hospital. He ended up with 10 stitches in his arm, BAD road rash on his whole right side, a bad cut on his back and scraped up knuckles, but he is alive! Thank GOD! I was SOOOO scared! He was wearing a full face helmet which has a lot of damage to it. The police and the hospital said that it was the only thing that saved his life. They said he hit his head extremely hard. Enough to daze him and knock him out. He lost hearing for about 2 or 3 minutes. He was telling people at the scene that he couldn't hear them talking. He wants me to write dumb a** on the helmet so he can hang it up in his room as a reminder.
He was crying, and told me that when he knew he was going to wreck he thought "oh f*ck I'm gonna die". He said he honestly thought that he was going to die in the accident. He told me he was so lucky he was alive, and he is thankful he lived through it.

He wasnts me to get rid of the bike. My husband and I have taken his license from him for the next 5 months until he is 18. He willingly handed over the license, and told us he doesn't want to drive for a while anyway. He said he realizes now why my husband and I are always after him about driving responsibly and safely. He said he is thankful we love him so much. I don't know if it was the pain or really how he felt, but I'm just glad he is ok!

Wow, I just want to cry now that he is home and ok!

[Thumper]

Oh man....sooooo glad he's no worse for the wear. It sounds like a accident that could happen to any of us; not all that fast, but the circumstances just align the wrong way. But dang, when it's your kid...I have an adult son, I can picture the pain and panic...just so glad your son is here to learn from it.

[Wrider]

Definitely! So very glad he's ok!
I'm happy to hear he was wearing a helmet, and that it saved him.
Was he wearing a jacket?
As for the license, that's how I felt after my first car accident. I ended up having about a week off before I had to drive again, and I was uber cautious for about 6 months. Trust me, it helps to get back on the horse after you fall off. But of course that's up to you and your husband, not my place to say.
Good luck and I hope he gets better soon!

[ofblong]

as wrider said its better to get back on and keep going than to get off and NOT do it for a "while". Why you may ask??? well because if he stops doing it because of fear he will never get back on it. I have known many a person who has wrecked on a 4 wheeler even and stopped riding it because they were afraid. never rode one again. I know other people who get back on, are cautious and take their time but keep on riding because its enjoyable. Your son will regret it later on but will be to terrified to get back on in those later "years".

[Gunslinger]

And if your kid does take up motorcycling again get him a jacket and some gloves. Even a mesh jacket is better than nothing and alot less painful than road rash. Glad he made out ok. Those gravel/sand patches scare the heck out of me.

[TorontoBoy]

17. Invincible. Or so they think. I know better than my parents. And no convincing can change their minds.

At least he was wearing a FF helmet. With such a hard hit to the head and subsequent concussion he needs to be monitored for a good while to see if anything else was harmed. Gear would have helped him, as he probably already knows. Thankfully he's alive. Live and learn.

[vladmech]

I'm really glad to hear he's coming out of that pretty okay. Thank goodness he had on a FF helmet!

If you think he's ever going to ride again, and you two are comfortable with it, I would definitely encourage him to at least do some short rides on the bike in the near future.

When I was 16 I got into a minor crash in my parents car, took a turn too wide pulling into a parking stall and hit the truck in the next stall. My parents were in the car (which was very embaressing) and made me drive home and then keep driving after that. If they hadn't, I think I would have actually stopped even trying to drive for a while, and would have really let it get to me.

Granted that's nowhere near the same level of getting a concusion from falling from a bike, but the general principle is the same. He'll let it shatter his 'I'm 17 and invincible' mindset and it'll weigh him down any time he thinks about a motorcycle after that. (Which maybe as parents, you want to happen )

[flynrider]

Glad to hear there was no serious damage. Although it seems pretty bad now, this will probably make him a safer rider in the long run.

I had my first high speed get-off when I was 18 and it totally changed my "invincible" mindset. At that age, you really have to spend a few seconds helplessly flying through the air to realize the physics involved and the consequences of pushing the limits.

I wouldn't worry about getting him "back on the horse" for a long while. That large patch of road rash is going to take a considerable amount of time to heal up (been there, done that).

[totalmotorcycle]

I'm very sorry to hear about your son's accident. Hearing about an accident is always hard, but I am always happy to hear that it ended with him being ok, if only banged up, alive and well.

A full face helmet can really help in any accident, I'm glad you son was wearing one.

In fact, your son's accident reminds me a lot of my own accident many years ago, and if it wasn't for my full face helmet, leather boots and motorcycle jacket I would have been much worse for wear as I left the road going 70km/h in an 80km/h zone on a curve.

For me, the best thing was to heal up and then get back on a bike as soon as possible. After my write-off crash I was on a bike again in 2 months. I had a small 0km/h dump on a bike in 1991 on a loose gravel road and it took me years to get back on to a bike again as fear is a powerful inhibitor, even though motorcycling was in my blood.

With the right pat on the back, a hard look at what went wrong and how to learn from it, new full safety gear, he'll be all right and I'd bet a better rider for it in the end to boot. It most likely hurt and he won't want to do that again anytime in the future.

Mike

[Wordherder]

A couple of extra thank-yous might in order at midnight mass this year* - mainly for whatever angel convinced him to wear the full-face helmet. Smart kid, loving mama, hardworking guardian angel.

Hold on to the license. Once the rash is healed, he may want to get back on the horse. He'll be a better, more careful rider from here on in, realizing that youth does not equal indestructibility.

And yeah, maybe Santa should bring some armored / leather gear.

* or at synagogue, mosque, altar to Ahura Mazda, etc.