Looking Ahead September 2021

by Gary Klinker

What a year Safe Rider has had. Classes filled all year and before the end of July we had an email from Kelley in our office. She reported that all our classes were full through the end of September, when we close for the year. We had even added one more Rider Coach to a class so we could accommodate six more students in a BRC. We also added another BRC2 License Waiver class to get six more riders endorsed and legal. Thanks to everyone involved!

Now, to the point for this month. Looking ahead is something we all do. The ABATE Board plans a year or more ahead. In the heat of summer, I look ahead to the cool riding days of fall. The Hummer Committee is already planning for next year. Kids look forward to getting back to school or getting out of it. Unfortunately, most politicians only look ahead to the next news cycle.

Looking ahead is what we all need to do more of as we ride. It is the best way to avoid situations that develop on the road. Early detection can save your life and give you time to make an informed decision about what action is needed to avoid crashing. One of the hardest things to overcome in the BRC is getting students to keep their heads up and look where they want to go. Once this does happen, any other problems they were experiencing seem to melt away. We use a strategy for riding called SEE. Search ahead, Evaluate the situations, and Execute an action to avoid or minimize the danger.

The first part of avoiding danger is to see it. This is where looking ahead comes in. If you see a deer on the roadside a quarter mile ahead you can do something about it a lot easier than if you don’t see it until it is fifty feet in front of you. The same goes for a stalled car, a stretch of sand and gravel, or as I encountered last week, a tree down across the road.

In the past a common driver’s education course was the SMITH System. The key part of it was “Get the big picture.” In other words, look ahead. All of this applies to driving a car, truck, or your bike. An easy way that I have found for myself and to explain to students who ask, “How far ahead do I look?” is to look where the road disappears. No, I did not come up with this on my own. It comes from a famous riding school, but it works. On a long straight road, you have a really big picture. In the hills and curves where most of us like to ride, it works great. Since the road is always disappearing, you are always looking as far ahead as you possibly can. By doing this every time you ride, it will become a habit and it will help prevent hazardous emergency situations. Try it next time, and every time you get behind the handlebars or the wheel. I’ll see you at the annual meeting in Baraboo-where there are a lot of great riding roads.

Ride Safe,

Gary