# For the Love of God, Ben! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490 "2006-06-12T21:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/21 "2006-06-12T23:50:07Z")
From what I heard, she was making a left (the other driver) and turned into his path. Whether she didn’t see him or couldn’t see him, it is possible that she had a ‘Left turn yield on green circle’ light and had no idea she was turning into the path of the bike. He hit the side of her car, from seeing the damage to the car, on the right hand side just in front of the front door. The eye witness who saw the accident said that his head hit her windshield and broke it, then he rolled over the hood and landed on the ground. She stated that she asked him his name, and he said ‘Ben’, and that he then asked her where he was and what city he was in. She said he was very bloody and she didn’t realize he was Ben Roethlisberger. She said that he was trying to get up and saying he was fine, but she told him to just lay down until the paramedics came. There could be more to this than facial reconstruction, or not. We don’t know anything. As of 2:30 today the local news was reporting that they didn’t know if Bill Cowher had arrived at the hospital, but his jaw arrived an hour before. Not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle in Pittsburgh is, IMHO, stupid. This is the second serious motorcycle accident in the city in less than 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/22 "2006-06-12T23:50:30Z")
Ugh. My first reaction when I heard the news was: Dumbass, you make MILLIONS, you need your body to make those millions… you could have ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you want in the world… PROTECT YOUR GOD DAMNED MELON, YOU MORON. Jeebus. I mean, the guy wears a helmet to play football, to avoid breaking his little head. You’d think he’d be at least smart enough to realize that he might want to wear one while riding a motorcycle. Jeebus. I hope his career isn’t shot because of this. They say he’s “coherent”, but from the photos of the scene, and the amount of blood, the dude took one HELL of a blow to the head. Brain injuries can take a while to show the full extent of the damage. As lno told me while we were chatting about the news today: Dude - you’re young, you’re rich, you’re the most loved guy in Pittsburgh, you could have sex with any woman you could ever want… but dude, WEAR A HELMET. (On both heads, I added.) (There was agreement.) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/23 "2006-06-12T23:50:31Z")
From [this](http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9356067/detail.html) article… > [@](#): > > According to a police source, Roethlisberger suffered a broken jaw, broke his left sinus cavity, suffered a 9-inch laceration to the back of his head, lost many teeth and has severe injuries to his knees from hitting the pavement. Unless a sprain is considered a severe injury, there’s some inconsistency in the reporting, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/24 "2006-06-12T23:58:06Z")
Another [article](http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9494385), germane to the discussion. > [@](#): > > How about the dangers of riding, period? Indeed. Losing a signing bonus might be the least of one’s worries. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/25 "2006-06-13T00:06:27Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > My comment stems from the fact that on this board you generally get attacked if you blame the victim. Ben was a victim, and his injuries are not his fault, although he could have mitigated them. Being a victim hardly qualifies as being stupid. Well, there’s blame, and then there’s blame. I don’t blame him for being the victim of an accident, if the accident wasn’t his fault. But when someone gets into a motorcycle accident, and suffers head injuries that could have been prevented or minimized by wearing a helmet, then he does deserve the blame for that part of his condition. Being an accident victim doesn’t qualify as being stupid; riding without a helmet does, in my opinion. In previous discussions on the issue of helmets, i’ve said to some folks that i don’t want to force them to wear a helmet, but that i reserve the right to say “I told you so” if they have an accident and suffer head injuries. Well, Ben Roethlisberger, i’m sorry you got hurt, and i hope you make a speedy recovery.\* But i told you so. - I don’t want whining Steelers’ fans to have an excuse when the Ravens beat them this year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/26 "2006-06-13T00:14:37Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, there’s blame, and then there’s blame. > > I don’t blame him for being the victim of an accident, if the accident wasn’t his fault. Then the injuries were not his fault, either. We can go back and forth on the merits of helmets, and clearly he could have benefited from the wearing of said helmet (I even referenced it in my OP) but none of this is his fault. He can take a lesson from this for the future, of course, but really the only lesson to be taken from this episode is that if you ride a motorcycle sooner or later the odds will catch up with you. Lack of a helmet only makes it potentially worse. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/27 "2006-06-13T00:19:59Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > Then the injuries were not his fault, either. > > We can go back and forth on the merits of helmets, and clearly he could have benefited from the wearing of said helmet (I even referenced it in my OP) but none of this is his fault. He can take a lesson from this for the future, of course, but really the only lesson to be taken from this episode is that if you ride a motorcycle sooner or later the odds will catch up with you. Lack of a helmet only makes it potentially worse. But that “lesson,” as you call it, is something that anyone with more than three functioning neurons should be able to work out _before_ doing a swan dive over the front of an oncoming car. If i step onto a crosswalk without looking for traffic, and get hit by a car that fails to obey the road rules, then the injuries may not be my fault, in any legal or even general sense. But that’s not much consolation when i’m lying in traction. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/28 "2006-06-13T00:23:32Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But that’s not much consolation when i’m lying in traction. Agreed. I’ve said much the same thing many times in the past. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/29 "2006-06-13T00:31:15Z")
I heard this at lunch and my first thought was unfortunately, “I wonder if there was a clause in his contract about motorcycle riding without a helmet”. My second thought was “Oh shit, I hope he is okay and recovers from his own stupidity”. **Airman Doors** : I glad you a major fan of his has the right attitude. His recovery is more important than his football career. Hopefully he will be able to recover completely and play again. I do not like the helmet laws either, but you would hope at least the Pros on your team would wear them. Jim ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/30 "2006-06-13T01:26:44Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > If he doesn’t, he should be held up as a poster child for Why Thou Should Wear a Helmet. Gary Busey already has that job. Big Ben is a young man living on top of the world. Why shouldn’t he be able to enjoy himself on a fast bike if that’s his taste? (provided he knows how to handle it and be a responsible biker) After seeing the flattened back side of the helmet I just happened to be wearing that day (the day of a particular wreck of my own), I quickly became a believer of helmet wearing. No more of the will I or won’t I wear it today thoughts. I wore one til the next wreck fucked up my leg. Now I don’t ride. (both wrecks were mostly my own damn fault, ftr) Don’t get mad at him for riding a motorcycle. He has a life, you know. Get mad at the facts of life on the road for bikers. It doesn’t have to be that way. ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/31 "2006-06-13T02:20:23Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Big Ben is a young man living on top of the world. Why shouldn’t he be able to enjoy himself on a fast bike if that’s his taste? (provided he knows how to handle it and be a responsible biker) > … > Don’t get mad at him for riding a motorcycle. He has a life, you know. Get mad at the facts of life on the road for bikers. It doesn’t have to be that way. No argument or anger from me about letting him ride. I’ve been a Scooter Tramp my whole life. But… he should wear a helmet. He can ‘enjoy himself on a fast bike’ with his Noggin protected. Wrap that wrascle! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/32 "2006-06-13T02:28:03Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > I heard this at lunch and my first thought was unfortunately, “I wonder if there was a clause in his contract about motorcycle riding without a helmet”. There is, but it’s only applicable during the regular season. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/33 "2006-06-13T10:51:21Z")
The ‘dangerous activity’ clause is not so specific as to say that he has to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. There was a ton of press about this last year, because Ben said he wouldn’t wear one and Cowher and Bradshaw both told him he should. Bradshaw’s suggestion was ‘Ride it when you retire.’ I’m thinking the Rooneys will be more specific in the future with their ‘dangerous activity’ clause. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/34 "2006-06-13T12:34:36Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Don’t get mad at him for riding a motorcycle. He has a life, you know. Get mad at the facts of life on the road for bikers. It doesn’t have to be that way. This was the most common type of motorcycle accident - the passenger car turning into the path of an oncoming motorcycle that the driver didn’t see. So, unfortunately it pretty much does have to be that way, unless all motorcyclists ride bikes lit up like Christmas trees. So you better wear a helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/35 "2006-06-13T12:51:03Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > We can go back and forth on the merits of helmets, and clearly he could have benefited from the wearing of said helmet (I even referenced it in my OP) but none of this is his fault. The accident is not (as far as we know) his fault. The extent of his facial injuries ARE his fault, because he ignored the well known, well advertised, oft-suggested advice of putting on a helmet. When you knowingly refuse to take reasonable precautions, you lose the right to say the resulting problems are not your fault. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/36 "2006-06-13T13:01:10Z")
Poor Busa ☹ ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/37 "2006-06-13T13:11:48Z")
Man, he already was a poster boy for some of my gay co-workers, and now you say he has no teeth?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/38 "2006-06-13T13:15:36Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > And in spite of the fact that you didn’t do anything wrong you have utterly infuriated thousands of Steelers fans due to your perceived recklessness in the face of all the advice you’ve gotten in the future. Advice he’s gotten in the future? I wish _I_ could act now on advice I’ll get in the future. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/39 "2006-06-13T13:22:02Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Advice he’s gotten in the future? I wish _I_ could act now on advice I’ll get in the future. > > Sailboat Yeah. You got next week’s Powerball numbers? 😃 Robin ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490/40 "2006-06-13T13:22:09Z")
Anyone dumb enough to ride a motorcycle without a helmet deserves to be traded to the Lions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-god-ben/360490.md?page=3)