Gordon Ramsay Reflects on Life After a Serious Bike Accident
Chef Gordon Ramsey has been one of the most controversial and beloved chefs on television over the past two decades. He is best known for his brash nature on series like Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef, and many were surprised to see his gentle, caring side on MasterChef Junior. Overall, Chef Ramsey has become a major voice in the world of food and reality television, and he recently had a brush with death that left him feeling nothing but gratitude.
Last week, Chef Ramsey reportedly suffered a bike accident that left him with extremely serious injuries. He spent several days in hospital and is still recovering. In a social media post on Father’s Day, he shared more about what happened and, more importantly, what saved his life. “I’m fine and have no broken bones or major injuries, but I’m a little bruised, like a purple potato,” he said in the caption of the Instagram post. He also showed photos of the severe bruising he still suffers from the crash and thanked the doctors who helped him after the crash.
Gordon Ramsey Emphasizes the Importance of Wearing a Helmet After the Crash
The biggest message Chef Ramsey wanted to convey in his post was the importance of wearing a helmet. He wrote in the caption below the post, “I’m grateful to all the doctors, nurses, and staff at Lawerence + Memorial Hospital in New London who cared for me and checked me out, but most grateful for the helmet that saved my life.” He also shared a before and after photo to emphasize the seriousness of the incident, as he had taken a photo before heading out that day. His helmet was severely cracked and his riding clothes were badly torn. “I’m in pain. It’s been a brutal week. And I’m getting through it. But I can’t tell you how important it is to wear a helmet,” he shared, showing how extensive his bruises were. Chef Ramsey was right to share his warning about the dangers of not wearing a helmet. The statistics on bicycle-related deaths due to not wearing a helmet back up his experience. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, studies conducted between 2018 and 2019 found that nearly 1,700 people died from traumatic brain injuries due to not wearing a helmet. The study went on to say that those 1,700 deaths accounted for 62 percent of all bicycle-related deaths during that time frame. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also found in their own studies that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of head injury by nearly 50% and the risk of serious head injury by 60%. With numbers like that, it’s hard to imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to wear a helmet, but the numbers still show that people don’t want to wear helmets.
Another government study found that only 18% of cyclists actually wear helmets. The main reason for this is largely aesthetic. There is still a large segment of people who, despite the statistics, believe that helmets don’t really do much good. Some studies have shown that walking on the street is even more dangerous than cycling without a helmet, but the problem with that argument is that it’s based on national statistics of the entire population, not just cyclists. Only 32% of Americans in 2018 were cyclists, so it makes sense that walking on the street leads to more fatalities than not wearing a helmet when 68% of the country doesn’t even ride a bike. Chef Ramsey was right to share his story and urge everyone to wear a helmet. His life and countless others have been saved because of it.
