Wear A Helmet

Now, I'm from the frozen northlands, and I volunteered as an EMT up there for four years, prior to this little relocation-for-school thing. My home state has no helmet laws, preferring to rely on Darwinism-In-Action. While this may work really really well from a "Live Free or Die" standpoint (literally), it works LESS well from the point of those who are scraping you off the pavement. A few years ago we had a DOZEN fatalities in ONE TEN DAY PERIOD during Bike Week. That averages to over a death EVERY DAY. And that's just DEATHS, not taking into account permanent coma, serious brain damage, and all that sort of thing. If the first time we meet is while I'm in full trauma gear, and I'm struggling to even VISUALIZE YOUR THROAT, we are not going to be good friends. If you are breathing three times a minute, and decerebrate, this is not a good day for you. So put on a helmet, please.
While I'm at it, please also refrain from mixing marijuana, alcohol, and your desire to ride your awesome motorcycle at night. Because your reflexes just aren't up to it. We have lots of beautiful roads, but they get awfully dark at night, there aren't many people to find you, and it's going to be a LONG TIME until we can get you to a hospital. If there isn't DHART (air ambulance. love them.) available, it's going to be AT LEAST a half-hour transport. Your depressed skull fracture is not going to be pleased. So just...don't do it. Or if you MUST do it, please have the decency to ride in a populated area where somebody MIGHT come across your mangled body in UNDER an hour? We don't start CPR if you're in rigor.

So please, be sensible. Wear a helmet, don't play chicken with our forests (they're going to win), avoid the moose, don't pet the bears, and for the love of God buckle your seatbelt!