Be Aware – Stay Safe

by John Reblin

Well, summer is here with the mercury in the thermometer nudging up over the 90’s, and tension running high on the street. Between Coronavirus and now, the protests and riots over the death of George Floyd at the knee of a police officer, let’s hope people will soon sit down, have a conversation, and work to get these issues solved. Protests are fine to raise concern over an issue but the destruction of property or injury to another person is causing a wider divide amongst the people trying to be swayed.

It also appears that many events, fairs, and concerts are missing this summer. I think people, especially people I know, are looking for that to change. Time to get out with friends, on your favorite mode of transportation and have a great time socializing, enjoying some music and some conversation with likeminded people. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? But we still need to remember to stay safe.

What I do want to share this month though is a reminder for all of us to work together and reduce motorcycle crashes. Although May was Motorcycle Awareness Month, that does not mean we have to stop educating drivers to watch out for motorcycles. We can still get together this summer and do an awareness rally to remind drivers to look, look and look again for motorcyclists. We can get those yard signs out of the garage and up along the road as a reminder to drivers. We can keep spreading the word on social media. Remember, motorcycle awareness is all year long not just during May.

Another thing you could do is to teach Share The Road. WE have this great program where you, the rider, go into a classroom and explain, mostly to students, how to share the road with motorcycles. You get to share your experiences as a rider, and you can make a difference to all road users.

When looking at crash reports we see some single bike crashes having issues in the corners and curves, either ending up in a ditch or crossing over a center line and hitting oncoming traffic. I am wondering if the issue is lack of training, experience, or overdriving the motorcycle. We all know and understand that to get the motorcycle through the curve at moderate or higher speed we need to counter steer, right? Simply stated when turning left you need to point your front wheel right and to turn right it gets pointed left, and of course, you gotta lean. Pretty basic stuff and they talk about it a lot in rider education courses. The instructors are trained to watch your steering technique making sure you’ve got a good grip on it. Early in the season, do your muscle’s memory and instincts get you through the curve correctly? I have said for a long time now that it is important to get out on the road and practice on the bike before that long road trip.

But what else can we do to make sure we get home safely? We can make sure riders know to watch the road for changing conditions. Things like loose gravel or sand in a curve can make for a nasty situation. With the season of road construction on us you need to be careful and know that the surface could be changed quickly by changes in road patterns, such as using shoulders of the road as driving lanes or surface milling work could be causing some traction issues. Signs, markers, and road markings can also be harder to see causing some roadway issues.

We need to continuously be urging that all riders be properly licensed. Being licensed proves that at one point you had the knowledge and skills to operate that motorcycle safely on the road. We need to urge riders to take a Rider Education class that challenges you and teaches you NEW skills, while correcting those bad habits. And of course, we need to watch that we are operating all of our vehicles while we are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. We need to be aware of ourselves and of those around us that too many cocktails, or whatever, can cause diminished skill levels along with poor judgement in making decisions. Leave the alcohol and other fun stuff until after the ride. Don’t be afraid to park the bike and get a ride. Many bars have the free or small donation ride home. Call an Uber or call a friend. Sure, you might be embarrassed, but that is a far better feeling that waking up in a hospital or worse.

One last thing, I am letting you all know that I am not running for Deputy Director or for an “at large board” seat this fall. I hope that someone steps up to take over these positions and takes ownership of the job. It has been fun, educational, and all that good stuff.

Ride safe this summer,

John