Alexandria motorcyclist collides with deer, wears helmet, survives

• David Hubbling

David Hubbling (right) was presented the “Saved by the Helmet” award by State Trooper Rick Schueler. Hubbling avoided serious injury in a motorcycle accident because he was wearing a helmet.
• Helmet

This is the helmet that David Hubbling was wearing when he struck a deer and his motorcycle crashed.

Talk about it

A deer could have changed David Hubbling’s life – and not for the better.

“Things would have been different without that,” Hubbling said as he pointed to a motorcycle helmet on the table. “That I know.”

On May 18, Hubbling, an Alexandria resident and seasoned motorcyclist with thousands of miles under his leathers, was cruising the speed limit on Highway 27 east of Alexandria when a deer darted into his path. There was nothing he could do.

Deer and bike collided, knocking Hubbling across the road. He sustained a cracked rib and an abrasion on his knee. His gloves were “all chewed up,” and the concrete took chunks of skin off his fingers and ate through three layers on the shoulder of his leather jacket. But it was his head that took the brunt of the impact.

Luckily, he was wearing a helmet.

“I hit so hard my forehead swelled up,” Hubbling said, shaking his head in wonder at what could have happened had he not had his helmet on.

Although Hubbling considers wearing a helmet common sense, this past Friday he was honored for demonstrating how motorcycle helmets save lives.

State Trooper Rick Schueler presented Hubbling with the “Saved by the Helmet” award. The award, started in 1992, recognizes motorcyclists who have been involved in a collision, were not in any way at fault, and were wearing a helmet.

According to Schueler, the responding and investigating trooper at the crash, the “Saved by the Helmet” award is rare, and is given to helmeted motorcyclists who otherwise would have sustained serious injury or death.

“Because of his motorcycle helmet usage at the time of the crash, he escaped serious injury,” Schueler said.

Hubbling finds it hard to understand why there is no helmet law in Minnesota, and now he is living proof of why there should be.

“I’m required [by law] to wear eye protection, but I’m not required to wear clothes or a helmet,” he said. “If [the helmet] hadn’t saved my life, it definitely would have changed it.”

Trooper Schueler agreed, and can’t stress enough that helmets save lives. He pointed out that the day after Hubbling’s accident, another motorcycle crash occurred that involved serious injuries. There were no helmets worn.

“Without question, helmets make a difference,” he concluded.

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