Risk Management Magazine

After returning home from a year in Afghanistan, I couldn’t wait to take a nice, relaxing trip with family and friends. So, two weeks after redeployment/reintegration, we packed our bags, coolers and paddleboards and headed for the beach. There, we’d join three other families already enjoying the beautiful weather. Little did I know that this trip would be anything but relaxing.

Several years ago, I experienced an event that altered my family’s life. While riding my Harley-Davidson Road King, I was struck head-on by a pickup truck. From my perspective, there was nothing I could have done to prevent this accident. On the other hand, the young man driving the pickup could have done several things differently, most notably, recognizing the right of way.

It’s clear motorcycle helmets save lives. To help protect the lives of riders, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requires all motorcycle helmets sold in the United States meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218. This standard defines minimum levels of performance that helmets must meet to protect the head and brain in the event of a crash.