Helmet "saved my life"

STLToday reports this incident that happened to Dr. Gregory Luerding, a dentist and triathlete:

Luerding turned onto Lake Saint Louis Boulevard, a two-lane concrete road with a bicycle lane on either side.

"It is a hideous road. There were cracks in the pavement," he recalled. "I hit a crack going 45 miles an hour. The bike flipped. I'm sure I was flying through the air. I just don't remember.

"The next thing I knew, I was lying on the side of the road. I could tell something was wrong. I couldn't move my shoulder," Luerding said. . . .

"A bicycle helmet saved my life. I have no question in my mind," he said.

As a "belt AND suspenders" kind of guy, I can't help but mention that, in addition to wearing a helmet, it would be quite wise to avoid 45 mph downhills on "hideous roads" with "cracks in the pavement," especially if any of those cracks are running roughly parallel to the direction of travel . . .