As the social media guy here at Salty Peaks, it’s my job to comb through the internet all-day, everyday, looking for interesting stuff happening in the skate/longboard world. Usually, I find positive, cool, and innovative stuff to put on the blog, but what I don’t talk about very much is the fact that just about every week a skateboarder or longboarder dies or is critically injured in an accident with head injuries. It’s VERY depressing.
The good thing is most longboarders and some skaters who come into Salty Peaks wear a helmet. Maybe it’s because here in Utah we have massive hills and guys get up to some serious speeds or maybe it’s just because they are smart. Whatever it is, I love seeing it. I have had 3 friends leave this planet early due to head injuries without a helmet. The last one was the most upsetting because after we lost a mutual friend to a helmet-less accident she begged everyone to start wearing one. One month later she was hit by a car without a helmet on and died at the scene.
I often wonder why people choose not to wear a helmet. The idea of not looking cool is beyond passé. Believe it or not we are in an era where intelligence is considered cool, and wearing a helmet is intelligent. And if you aren’t intelligent you should definitely wear a helmet because you really need to protect the few brain cells you are holding on to! Many people use the excuse that they can’t afford a helmet. In my opinion if you can’t afford a helmet you shouldn’t buy a new setup. You wouldn’t buy a car without a body on it would you?
Most of the accidents I read about are dictated by police to be the longboarder or skater’s fault. They are usually skating at night down a dark street or are bombing a hill and trip up or can’t stop in time or don’t have a lookout. Just because it’s legal to skate in a road doesn’t mean it can’t get you hurt or killed. And it’s a terrible situation for the driver of the vehicle if one minute they were just cruising down a street and the next minute they have hit a kid. No one wants that on their conscience.
The older I get the more I realize that people in cars aren’t always looking out for weird scenarios like skaters in the street because they are tired or distracted or whatever and some people are outright mean to skaters and cyclists and try to run them off the road! You have to always protect yourself and you can’t rely on the people in the cars to look out for your best interests.
This is really just a plea from a skater who has been doing it for 23 years, please wear a helmet. This world needs more free-thinking people like you in it, and I know you don’t want to take a piece of your Mom or Dad’s or girlfriend or boyfriend’s heart away, forever. My friends’ parents and siblings have NEVER gotten over this and the rest of us have our moments. It permanently changed their families for the worse. I wish my friends would have just worn a helmet because all we’re left with is sadness and some old cell phone numbers that are too painful to delete.
Michael, Gordon, and Kelly – you are missed.
As a final note, I fully realize that a helmet won’t save everyone.
Many skaters die at night so maybe you can clip one of those blinky bicycle lights to your pants or hat if you insist on riding in the dark…I used to use one when skating home at night in Boston. 30 of the 42 fatalities in 2011 involved a vehicle so obviously drivers need to be extra aware when around skaters and skaters around drivers. Two of the skaters who passed were just tricking flat ground and hit their head in the exact wrong spot and would have been fine with a helmet. Doctors say another 11 people probably would have lived if they were wearing a helmet, so you have a 30% better chance of skating tomorrow if you strap one on today.
