December 2020

by Gary Klinker

It may be December, but Safe Rider is already working on next year. We have our scheduling meeting this month so you will be able to register for 2021 classes soon. The results for 2020 are in and we had an exceptionally good year. Despite the virus scare we went ahead with classes and there were no problems at all. Our BRC students trained were up 18% over last year. Demand for classes was good right up until the end of September when the schedule ended. The BRC2 License Waiver classes showed an increase of 18.5 % students trained. These are people who have been riding illegally and are now licensed. We are making a difference. I want to thank all of our Rider Coaches for their dedication and hard work to make the season a success.

The downside of this season was the BRC2 Skills classes. These are the classes that any rider should be taking periodically to brush up or learn new skills. They were down and we cancelled one for lack of students. We will be cutting down next year. This makes me sad since Safe Rider was started to help ABATE members become better riders and stay safer on the road.

I just returned from the ABATE Executive training and Board meeting weekend. The Highway Safety committee meeting had the traffic fatality report. As of November 2, there were 108 motorcycle fatalities compared to 83 last year at this time. That is a 30.1 % increase compared to only a 1.5 % increase for automobile fatalities. Do you think there might be a need for BRC2 Skills classes?

It is that time again to put the bike up for the winter. Be sure to treat your gas and hopefully you don’t have any ethanol in the tank. Start now on your maintenance program so you are ready to ride when the weather breaks.

Have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the season with family and friends and do not live in fear. For this year I am out of here to hunt deer (since it is still November as I write this).

Ride Safe,

Gary