Originally Posted by
Bob Ross
So how about this one:
Several years ago while descending in a paceline that slowed suddenly, my wife grabbed a bit too much front brake and endo'd. Broke her collarbone. She also happened to be wearing one of those Take-A-Look eyeglass-mounted rear view mirrors. Because she went over the bars and landed on her face, the mirror got pushed all the way through her cheek into her mouth. And then ripped out again. Raggedy hole ~1" long in the side of her face that went all the way through. Mirror even wound up cutting her gums on the way in. Plastic surgeon had to sew her face up in six separate layers. (I forget if the stitches in her gums counted as one of those six, or if those were the seventh set of stitches she received.)
For those still reading...how many of you who currently ride with a rear view mirror will now stop riding with a rear view mirror because of this episode?
I'll admit, that's exactly the type of injury I pictured when I first looked at the Take-A-Look mirror.
It won't deter me from using one, at least not until I find something better. Ideally I'd want the same design with rounder, rubber-padded edges, and perhaps a breakaway stem. The other helmet mirrors I tried were awkward, without the simple but versatile and functional mirror pivots of the Take-A-Look.
But it hasn't been a priority for me because the risk is so low compared with the risk of simply getting on a bike and riding. The most dangerous thing about every ride for me is the first mile of traffic between my apartment and my destination.
The better I can see my surroundings, including behind me via a good mirror, the safer I am.