February 2010

Welcome to the very first Road Guardians newsletter!
We hope that you find it informative as well as interesting.
Please contact webmaster@roadguardians.org with comments.

In this issue:

1. A word from the Director: Road Guardians – an essential resource for the motorcyclist: by Vicki Sanfelipo

2. Website features: Biker-Owned Businesses: by Andrea Lyman

3. Safety Corner: Two Chances to Learn: by Chris Hawver

4. The Educated Biker: by Trauma Mama

5. What makes a better biker? BBC News

6. Biker-Owned Business of the Month: Tour on 2

7. Wacky Pic of the Month

In the next issue:
1. A word from the Director: Vicki
2. Featured Article: ALL OVER THE MAP: Route Planning on a Computer: by John Garley
3. What’s new at ASMI?
4. Technical Tip: Wallet Prep for the Riding Season
5. Member Spotlight
6. Partner News
7. Rescue Riders: Dean Akey

A word from the Director
Road Guardians – an essential resource for the motorcyclist
by Vicki Sanfelipo

Accident Scene Management, Inc. was established in 1996. Our mission and focus is "to reduce injuries and fatalities to motorcyclists through education". We have trained over 16,000 students and have grown to be the leader in the topic of motorcycle trauma.

On January 7th, we launched the “Road Guardians” (RGs); a national program of Resources, Rewards, & Recognition focused on encouraging life-long learning among motorcyclists. We hope all motorcyclists find RGs useful whether they are enjoying the free resources on our website at www.roadguardians.org or participating in our annual membership program (available only to ASMI students who have completed an ASMI class). Many of our resources are free and you can help us keep them updated.

So how does it work?

Resources
Our free website has the most comprehensive organized list of motorcycle related resources on the web. We encourage you to participate by recommending resources we may have missed. See the web site pages – Safety Resources, Legal Resources, Bike Own Businesses and Events – all listings are by State.
We are also bringing a star-studded cast of National guests to Chicago for our first National Biker’s Betterment Conference (BBC). Al Hydeman, Manager of the MSF will present “Street Smarts”; Dr. Thomas, Vice President of the Snell Foundation and leading expert in helmet manufacturing standards will talk about the difference between DOT standards and Snell standards as well as explaining shell and padding construction; Imre Szauter, AMA govt. relations and coordinator of the “Justice for All” campaign will lead a panel discussion on Motorist Awareness. Other panel presenters are: ABATE of Wisconsin and Greg Zaffke from the Black Nail Brigade; Lee Parks (Author and owner of Total Control) will be our Featured Guest speaker and will do demos in the parking lot on braking, cornering & speak about his experiences. Many other activities and guests will be featured with well known and respected organizations! Who is our target audience? Motorcyclists! This is a conference put on by Bikers for Bikers.

Rewards
Available only to ASMI students who have completed training through our RG membership.
- Over 1,100 discounts to businesses that go beyond what a person typically receives, to MC related businesses.
- Discounts on classes, IMS shows, etc.
- Access on-line refresher courses.
- Online ride planners, event planning tools, personal safety training records and a ride log.
- RG merchandise is only available in the Members Only protected area.
- Members receive a member package in the mail with an RG patch, and membership card with Members unique identification number..
- $2,500 Accidental Death and ADD life insurance policy.

Recognition
Those who have taken the time and investment to learn will be recognized.
- We encourage RG members to achieve the status of “certified” RG. Kind of like an Iron Butt, this is not a level everyone can achieve.
- Training must be current and validated.
- We expect that initially only 10% of RG members will be eligible, due to educational requirements. Our hope is the percentage of Certified RG’s will increase as the educational requirements are completed.
- Since ASMI began we have encouraged ASMI Basic, Advanced, CPR and Rider Ed for a well rounded education.
- Show us that you have that level of training and are current with certifications and you will receive a certified rocker and for your RG patch and a gold foil sticker for your membership card.

We are continuing to develop our program. I encourage you to visit www.roadguardians.org. Be sure to sign up for the BBC in Chicago at the Doubletree O’Hare March 26-27, 2010. Hotel rooms are only $75.00 for up to 4 people per room. A very special thank you to the partners who have made this program possible! Hupy & Abraham in Wisconsin and Illinois, Sevenish Law Firm in Indiana, Hardison and Associates in North Carolina, and Innocorp, maker of Fatal Vision goggles and the Red, Yellow, Green program.

All the best,
Vicki Sanfelipo
Executive Director of Accident Scene Management, Inc
a 501c3 Non-Profit organization

Website Features
Biker-Owned Businesses
by Andrea Lyman

RoadGuardians.org is your one-stop resource for all things Biker. We have created the Biker-Owned Business area so that we can support our local biker communities, whether we are looking for a haircut or home repairs. If you have had a great experience with a biker-owned business, or if you own one yourself, please utilize our "Recommend" tool. Here's how:

1. Visit www.roadguardians.org
2. Select Biker-Owned Businesses from the top menu
3. Click on Recommend a Biker-Owned Business
4. Fill in the form (* items are required) and select Submit!
5. A notification is sent to the RG team for review and approval.

Thank you for helping to make this resource the best that it can be!

Safety Corner
Two Chances to Learn
by Chris Hawver, Safety Officer
Road Guardians Co-Founder

Two Chances to Learn…
practicing safe riding

The First – Accident Scene Management Classes
Want to ride being prepared for a possible spill and possibly earn a reduced motorcycle insurance discount?

As motorcyclists we enjoy riding with friends, neighbors and even with the best of the relatives. Riding together is one bond, but I encourage all to share another bond… safety. Safety can be sourced from experience, and from training.

The Basic (#100) class teaches the basics of motorcycle trauma using P.A.C.T. This one day course is geared toward the lay rescuer but is a great review for the EMS as well. You’ll learn about helmet removal, moving the injured, jaw thrust rescue breathing, as well as how to manage an accident scene.

The Advanced (#300) class is only available to those who have the Basic within the past two years. It is best taken as close as possible to Basic training. This course will prepare you for roadside medical concerns and to be a better assistant to the EMS. Hands on stations give emphasis to hands on skills.

To enroll in these classes, go to http://www.accidentscene.net/schedule.htm

The Second – Bikers Betterment Conference
This conference is being held March 26-27, 2010 in Chicago at the DoubleTree O-Hare
Nationally Known Guest Speakers addressing topics such as: Braking and ABS, Alcohol Awareness initiatives, Improve your skills through Simulated riding, Planning a Group Ride, Military's Sport Bike Program success, Vendors, Saturday Banquet, Parking Lot Demos.
For more information, go to http://www.accidentscene.org/

Make safety first in our rides to having fun.

Chris

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The "Educated Biker"
by Trauma Mama

Let’s face it, bikers aren’t what they used to be. Sturgis, Daytona, Hock Rock are all great but it’s not always about the party. We have a voice and we want to be heard. ABATE, AMA, MSF, MRF and NAMS are all examples of organizations or programs that help us do so. They are not in competition but all working toward benefiting motorcycle safety and education as well as rights. Legislation recognizes the educated biker as a voice that knows its stuff. HOG Chapters, BMWOG's as well as MC's and many Riding Associations all recognize the need for safety and education and most importantly injury prevention. Safety Officers and Road captains are essential to assist in this process.

Injury Prevention is achieved through education. Anyone can learn to ride, but certified riding programs provide enhanced training to prevent injuries. ASMI provides motorcyclists with specific motorcycle trauma focused emergency care. We have all been there! If it was not one of us who had personally gone down, perhaps a brother or sister. Bikers are usually the first to step up and help. It’s time we step up and help each other by promoting education and safety among one another.

Promotional incentives and community education for non riders is also crucial. "Look twice for bikes",” Start seeing Motorcycles" ,"Watch for Motorcycles", Even Greg Zaffke's Black Nail brigade educates people by his "Distracted Driver Destroys lives" campaign by increasing awareness to non riders. ABATE teaches teens at drivers education classes about Motorcycle awareness. This starts the mind set of motorcycle awareness from day one that they get behind the wheel. Riders Edge programs teach the basics about riding. Advanced riding classes enhance riding skills to prevent crashes.

Rescue Riders recruit, train and educate riders to assist other riders in time of need, whether it is an emergency when out riding with your buds or volunteering for charity events as medical support and disaster preparedness. Our training includes ASMI Basic and Advanced as well as CPR and soon disaster preparedness programs. With that, you already qualify to obtain Road Guardian Charter membership. Add a safety riding class and become a "Certified Road Guardian Member". We welcome Road Guardian members to become Rescue Riders and volunteer on Rescue Rider Missions, charity events and runs as well as participate in the disaster preparedness component.

Rescue Riders acknowledge and welcome the Road Guardian Program. The Program enables members to receive discounts and incentives from many motorcycle safety venues. It will give you opportunity to log your miles as well as utilize an event planner. It offers monthly newsletters as well as online continuing education and maintains an educational data base. The membership price is nothing compared to all of the benefits and incentives the program offers.

I encourage all riders to get educated, be prepared and be actively involved. Be an educated biker!

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Biker's Betterment Conference!

Rider Education	Al Hydeman, Manager of the MSF	Street Smarts - Rider Perception
Motorist Awareness	Imre Szauter, AMA Govt relations	Panel presentation and discussion surrounding Justice for all, share the road, Black Nail brigade and more!
Impaired Riding	Michael Jordan, NHTSA, program anaylist, motorcycles	Panel presentation about initiatives surrounding impaired riding
First Response	Teresa "Trauma Mama" McClelland, RN Director of training & curriculum	Teresa presents ASMI's PACT and ABCSS of trauma as they relate to a motorcycle crash. Demonstrations
Apparel	Pat Hahn, MN motorcycle safety program Ms. Hong Zhang, Snell Memorial Foundation	Hi Viz   Helmet Education re: standards, differences in helmets, etc. Everything you want to know about design from the leading expert in the USA!
Legal	Attorneys: Randy Sevenish, Michael Hupy, Ken Hardison	Panel presentation by RG attorney partners. Good Samaritan Laws, Duty to Act, Obligations, Interfering, protecting yourself, Insurance jargon

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Biker-Owned Business of the Month: Tour on 2

Tour on 2 is more than touring on 2 wheels or riding on two lane roads. Tour on 2 is about touring to new destinations or touring to those places that you have always wanted to ride. Your Tour on 2 hosts, Pam and Bill Gade, are Chicago natives and have been organizing guided motorcycle tours for many years.

They offer 3-day weekend tours packages as well as 5-day and 8-day tour packages. They also have a 14-day package that you will ride from Chicago to LA on RT 66. Bill and Pam understand the adult rider and have created all of their tours with the adult rider and passenger in mind. They encourage couples and especially those newer riders on all their tours. They make sure all riders and passengers are comfortable with the daily riding distance, meals and accommodations. They can also help you find a rental motorcycle if needed. When you book a motorcycle tour with Tour on 2 you will experience a trip of a lifetime. You can join them on one of their package tour rides or they can create a custom ride just for you, your friends, your coworkers or your employees. They are all about offering you a safe and enjoyable riding experience. They do all the work in finding great places to ride, great places to stay and great places to eat. All you need is a motorcycle, personal gear, be ready to ride and have a great time!

For More Information go to: www.tourontwo.com or
Contact them on : touron2@aol.com
Phone: 630-660-4733

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Wacky Pic of the Month

Ok, what is so strange about this? I mean, bikes need a little lovin' too!

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Thank you! Different sizes available upon request to webmaster@accidentscene.org.

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