Felled tree

(Also posted on my Seventh Heaven Blog.)

Have you ever thought how it must feel if one falls to the ground just like a felled tree?

Even during my boxing days, when Neelam Lakhaney (also a Mumbai Cathedralite 59er Savageite), half my size, was whipping me in the Heavy Weight category, I never fell to the ground.

Today, I was on my morning rounds on my scooter. I got home around noon. I got off the scooter, and as is my common practice, I turn around, take of my glasses, then remove my helmet, put on my glasses, hang the helmet over one of the rear view mirrors and then trot up the stairs, home.

Today was a bit different.

As I got off the bike and was wheeling around, it was as if my feet were stuck in a place while my body tipped over and crashed to the ground. My helmeted head thumped onto the cemented section, just a few centimetres away from a huge cement block.

I tried to figure out what had happened. As I twisted around, I saw that the bottom of my track suit had hooked into the metal stand on which the scooter is put to rest.

As I had tried to move away, one feet was pulled away from me and I crashed to the ground, straight as an axed tree.

As my head smashed into the ground, I was ever so grateful for the glass-fibre reinforced helmet which surrounded my head. I was badly bruised on one knee, while the other was just grazed. The palms of my hand were bruised, as was one elbow.

But my head was intact. Was I grateful for the plastic helmet!!

Felt good to have been a plastics technologist which subject and material have no doubt saved many lives in different environments!

Using a helmet when riding a cycle or scooter

Many think it is a bother to use a helmet when riding a cycle or scooter.

This year, for the first time, I understood the significance as I clocked up a couple of thousand kilometres on the scooter.

Strike 1: I was going to a football match in early summer with my young friend, Soda, sitting behind me. I was not driving very fast when I turned right to go into a tunnel to cross the main road. As I turned the corner I saw three cyclists straight in front of me. They were riding abreast. Even as I braked I knew I would hit one of them. I chose the one in the centre as I knew that if I hit the ones nearer the sides, they could be thrown in a manner that they would hit the walls of the tunnel.

As both Soda and I had on our helmets, we both got away with some scrapes. It was lucky that cyclist, a young South Korean student in Oulu University, got away unscathed as he was not wearing a helmet!

Strike 2: I was driving along the scooter path to town, not very fast, when suddenly a driver turned sharply right into a side path, completely ignoring the cycle, pedestrian and scooter traffic which had right of way. The path of the car crossed the pedestrian/scooter road.

I reacted quickly turning my scooter perpendicular to the car. I was thrown off the scooter. The scooter crashed to the ground.

The driver was a lady with a baby strapped in the front passenger seat.

I just could not believe myself as to the bad driving by this lady who had swung across the cycle path without verifying if any traffic was on the path.

I was lucky that I had my helmet on as the scooter was thrown hard to the ground because of my evasive action. I can still remember how my helmet bounced on the ground three times as I hit the road!

Strike 3: I was driving back home from town when I decided to take a short cut which has no traffic. It involved driving up a steep incline and making a sharp left turn. Although my speed was really slow, as I turned left, there was a lot of fine sand on the road and the scooter tyres just lost their grip and I was thrown away from the scooter with my helmeted head crashing against the ground.

A bad bruise on the knee but no other damage.

In all three cases, if I did not have my helmet on the situation could have been catastrophic. If Soda had not been wearing a helmet when riding as my passenger, he too could have had a traumatic experience!

Accidents do happen. Many times for no fault of anyone. If you are not properly equipped the result could be tragic.

I am glad that I have always been properly attired when riding the scooter this year. It has saved my life.

Please follow the rules as there are many people who love you and want to have you around!