Motorcycles are something of a challenge. For riders, they represent the ultimate in freedom on the road, where you can experience the feel of the road, the wind in your face and the exhilaration of speed on a bike.
But with great freedom comes great responsibility. A wrong move on a motorcycle can provide the rider with an actual, concrete feeling of the road, sometimes including a concrete road surface. Road rash is one feeling no rider ever wishes to experience. And with a cycle, road rash may be a “best case scenario” when it comes to a crash or collision.
With no more protection than is afforded by your helmet, if you wear one, and your jacket, chaps and boots, the prospects of a crash are often very bleak. Broken bones, damaged internal organs, spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries are all very strong possibilities for a rider when you crash your bike.
Add alcohol into the mix, and all of the above become more likely. Fatal bike accidents are often linked to alcohol use. So a Pennsylvania state senator should consider himself lucky that DUI charges are the worst outcome after laying his bike down on an interstate exit ramp.
He told Pennsylvania State Police that his motorcycle slid on cinders on the road surface, but they reported he showed strong signs of alcohol intoxication. He did suffer a punctured lung, cracked rib and a broken foot.
Which is to say he got of lightly with a bike accident. If he had slid a different direction or if his head had struck the guardrail, instead of facing his third DUI in 20 years, the state police may have been adding his death to the year’s total fatalities for alcohol-related deaths.
Source: 6abc.com, “PA. SENATOR CHARGED WITH DUI IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH,” Associated Press, May 8, 2015