Accidents Happen

In Uganda many people are religious. I am not generally one to claim massive amounts of religiosity, but yesterday was not my most shining moment in terms of luck, or maybe it was. My last morning in Kampala, my home-stay brother and I headed into town, but since taxi’s don’t come too close to his home, we boarded bodas. It was a hot day, a sunny day and like every day-one where I was not about to go off without my helmet. Regrettably, I left my jacket at home thinking it would be a hassle and make me more susceptible to pick-pockets in town if I was carrying too much or looking over heated. Bad move, even a cotton shirt won’t protect one in an accident.

Boda drivers are well known around Kampala for being crazy drivers- this was not the case yesterday. Driving slower than normal (probably from being a bit lost on where to go) the driver was being particularly careful, but in the cities- bodas are not the only ones on the road. Whether it was a taxi or just a regular car I will never know. White and too close for comfort were my only two thoughts as we fell. Then it was up and out of the road asap to check the damage.

This post is not to talk of battle scars or tell you to never ride a motorcycle.

It is to say there is a way to mitigate risk. A jacket would have saved my shoulder a lot of pain as would longer pants. The helmet saved my head from a lot of pain, and maybe my life. There is no back-tracking, no counter-factual and no photos to describe it, but today I’m not thanking God for saving my life. I am thanking my family for having prioritizing where to spend money- for buying what little insurance they could in the form of foam and hard plastic, and for my being wise enough to wear the thing without fail even when social pressures push for less being carried around. Helmets aren't an sign of being high maintenance. They are a sign of rationality. A 600$ full helmet (even if we did get it on sale) was worth every last penny and every pound of luggage when it broke my fall.

This post is to say accidents happen, you can never be too careful. Not everyone will understand why you lug the helmet around, but not everyone ends-up walking away.

So ride, as I surely will continue to need to do, but preparedness is more statistically significant that luck.