April 2010

Please contact webmaster@roadguardians.org with comments.

In this issue:

1. A word from the Director: ASMI’s Road Guardian Program creates “Thrash”

2. Partner News: WUI–Wrenching Under the Influence: by Lee Parks

3. Featured Article: ALL OVER THE MAP: Wallet Prep for the Riding Season: by John Garley

4. Women In Motion/Tommy Thompson Reunion Ride 2010

5. Member Spotlight: Jeff Stevens

In the next issue:
1. A word from the Director by Vicki Sanfelipo
2. Website features by Andrea Lyman
3. Featured Biker-Owned Business
4. Safety Corner by Chris Hawver
5. The Educated Biker by Trauma Mama
6. Wacky Pic of the Month!

A word from the Director
Thrash
by Vicki Sanfelipo

ASMI’s Road Guardian Program creates “Thrash”

Recently I read an article where actor Ashton Kurcher talked about a term he coined “thrash”. He said that thrash, while sometimes uncomfortable, is necessary to bring about change. He likened thrash to the turbulence created when a propeller churns water. A boat in water will lazily drift along with the current and is unlikely to take you where you want to go. Thrash, on the other hand, creates momentum. Of course the boat needs to be steered and you need to know what direction you are going but thrash is necessary for change to effectively take place.

Accident Scene Management, Inc. (ASMI) recently created thrash with their new Road Guardian (RG) Program. RGs is a new, more comprehensive way of looking at motorcycle safety. So why rock the boat? Motorcycle fatalities continue to rise while car related deaths continue to decrease. The reasons for this are tossed around like a ship at sea but one this is for sure, the negative attention is not good for motorcycling! Solutions that have been proposed by government agencies and the general public have ranged from mandatory apparel to outlawing motorcycles all together! The Road Guardian Program is an appeal to motorcyclists and to the motorcycle industry to get involved in reducing injuries and fatalities through education and awareness. It is in our own best interest to personally do everything we can to reduce injuries and fatalities.

Not only does ASMI wish to broaden the term “motorcycle safety” to mean more than rider education and apparel but we want to create a culture of life long learning for motorcyclists. In order to do this we created a program to encourage and reward people who choose to get involved by providing:
• Resources
• Rewards
• Recognition

Resources: As we looked at organizing “motorcycle safety” we turned to a document that was developed in 1999 called the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (NAMS). NAMS was funded by NHTSA and created over a two year period by a team of researchers who visited every state in the USA to interview people in each state who were considered stakeholders re: what they were doing for motorcycle safety and what they thought was important. The result was a document that contains six educational topics: Rider Education, Apparel, Motorist Awareness (conspicuity), Anti-impaired Riding, Laws/Govt. & First Response. Next, our RG volunteer researchers scoured the web looking for programs in each of these six areas in every state. Starting with 17 million resources they had a daunting task. The end result was a map of the USA with 6 categories. Some states have resources in all areas and many do not. This means that either there is room for improvement in educational offerings in that state or that we (RGs) missed a resource. Missing resources are easily corrected by the website visitor who simply recommends a resource. While we do not claim to have found every resource available, we can confidently say that we have the most organized and comprehensive motorcycle safety resource on the web!
Additional resources were created by developing conferences called “Biker’s Betterment Conferences” or BBCs. Our first BBC was held in Chicago March 26-27, 2010 and was a great success! 140 people attended from 19 states. National experts spoke on all 6 safety topics.

Rewards: ASMI trained students are eligible to join the annual membership Road Guardian Program. The RG member is entitled to secure access to virtually another website! In that secure area the member will find rewards for taking the time to get trained. Discounts on additional training as well as every day discounts, discounts on events, ride planners, personal safety and ride logs and access to RG merchandise are all available. 1300 discounts are currently offered with that number continuing to grow as we add new partners. $2500.00 of accidental death and disability insurance is also free to RG members and along with that a discount medical card for additional benefits through American Life.

Recognition: RG members receive a patch as part of their membership but those who go the extra mile and meet certain criteria can become a “certified” Road Guardian (CRG)! This achievement is thought of as being similar to an Iron Butt in Education. CRGs have to submit documentation proving that they are currently certified in ASMI basic, ASMI advanced and CPR. They must also show proof of M endorsement on their driver’s license and completion of a rider education class.

If you are thinking, WOW, this is HUGE!!! We agree. We wanted to create thrash, momentum that would change the way we see motorcycle safety. We hope that all motorcyclists will sit up and take notice. We can provide the resources and incentives but it is up to each and every motorcyclist who cares about either their sport or their way of life to reduce injuries and fatalities through education.
Visit: www.roadguardians.org or www.accidentscene.org

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

Partner News
WUI–Wrenching Under the Influence
by Lee Parks

 

Ever since I started racing motocross when I was 14 I’ve been working on my own bikes. While I will defer to a pro for things like transmission work, I’ve always considered myself to be a fairly decent shadetree mechanic. A recent experience on an LA freeway, however, was a rude wake up call that familiarity had built up a complacency that almost killed me.

Of course, we’ve all had our close-call moments over the years. This time was a little different for me, however, in that something that was so easily preventable had me in such a precarious position. I hope this tale of nearly tragic nonchalantism (I think I just made up that word) causes you to think twice before giving yourself the green light to get on the road.

I have a Hollywood director buddy named PJ that I’m currently co-writing a motorcycle-related screenplay with, and we had a long conversation the night before I was going to visit him. It was 1 am by the time I realized that I had not put the wheels back on my bike after changing the tires that afternoon. Begrudgingly, I got my tired, lazy ass off the couch and headed out to the garage to quickly get the wheels on so I could just wake up and go in the morning. After installing the wheels, I did my usual checking over all the nuts and bolts to make sure everything was tight. I even used my torque wrench on the axles.

The next morning I had a quick bite to eat, grabbed my Aerostich, and started the 90 minute drone down the hill to LA. After about 20 minutes on the 210 freeway I noticed some brake lights on the cars up ahead. Surprisingly, I pulled the front brake lever until it hit the bar and there was no change in speed. At first I figured that the pads must have been pulled so far\apart from when I reinstalled the wheel that they just needed another pull to take up the slack.

A second pull resulted in a loud noise and a howling front wheel lockup. This immediately caused the rear wheel to shoot upward as the bike began to flip over forward. At this point my adrenalin kicked in overdrive and I realized that if I didn’t let go of the brake lever I was going to experience an 80mph face plant. Riding on only the front wheel for about 40 feet I was horrified to notice my Hawk’s solo front brake caliper dangling off its mounts. Apparently, I forgot to check the brake caliper bolts the night before which were likely just hand tight when I began the ride. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a quick stab on the rear brake also had zero effect on my velocity. A glance down\revealed my right boot covered in brake fluid where the rear master cylinder had chosen a most inopportune time to blow a seal.

Holy crap, now I had no brakes and somehow had to get across fours lanes of traffic, stop and somehow get my bike fixed! Almost miraculously, the next exit had an uphill off-ramp, which, combined with my best Fred Flintstone foot brake imitation, allowed me to slow down enough to get to the light just as it was turning green, which happened to be a street with a strip mall containing an auto parts store, which also happened to have grade eight metric bolts in the correct size for my caliper mounts, and even had a ratchet and socket to lend me so I could reinstall my brakes. Whew!

I’m not sure if this experience means I have really bad or really good karma, but one thing is sure: late-night wrenching when fatigued can be just as dangerous as riding while fatigued. So take a tip from your Uncle Lee and don’t wrench in any condition that you wouldn’t also ride in unless you plan to recheck all of your work before you hit the starter.

You may not be as lucky as I was if you make the wrong choice, but hopefully you’ll be smart enough to not be as dumb in the first place.

Ed: To read more about Lee Parks and Total Control Training, visit www.totalcontroltraining.net

Top

ALL OVER THE MAP
Wallet Prep for the Riding Season
by J. Garley 04/2010

Without warning, give your wallet to a friend. Wait a minute; make sure it’s a good friend. Tell them to pretend you are unconscious due to a motorcycle accident, and they must look through your wallet to find information that is critical to paramedics and doctors. How long does it take them to find:

• Your name (that should be simple enough)
• Emergency contact family member(s) and their phone number(s)
• Your doctor’s name and phone number (or other location of your medical records)
• Your blood type
• Allergies (including medicine), or acknowledgement that you are not allergic
• Medications you commonly use, or acknowledgement of no medicine
• Medical alerts such as diabetes, pacemaker, asthma, etc.
• Your medical insurance company, and if possible your policy number

The point is obvious. If you are involved in an accident, this information is critical to people who are trying to help you. They need to know the above factors quickly and with certainty. Try to collect this information on a single piece of paper, and it should be easily identified and obviously located in your wallet, directly next to your driver's license.

Click here for a printable emergency card!

Spend a few minutes and collect the above info. It may have to displace your kid’s picture, but make it easy to find in your wallet. No one wants to dig into every last crevasse searching for bits and pieces of medically related data that may or may not be in your wallet. If/when needed, everyone involved will be glad you did; especially you.

Top

Women in Motion/Tommy Thompson Reunion Ride 2010!
by Vicki Sanfelipo

Great news!!!! 10th annual River Road Fundraiser and 16th annual Tommy Thompson's Reunion Ride will be hosted by the Women In Motion Roadguards. Registration is now open!!! This 3 day 4 night event will pamper you with an escorted ride that starts in Madison, WI and ends in Phillips, WI 575 miles later. Have a wonderful time, make new friends and support a fundraiser that benefits bikers! July 21-25, 2010.

This ride is Accident Scene Management's largest annual fundraiser. ASMI teaches the Bystander Assistance course "A Crash Course for the Motorcyclist". If you are unable to attend the event but would still like to help, click here. You will find other ways in which you can help ASMI. Your support helps keep ASMI growing for the benefit of all riders.

Visit www.accidentscene.org/womeninmotion/signup.htm for more information and to register.

Top

Member Spotlight
byJeff Stevens

 

Featured Road Guardian: Jeff Stevens

My name is Jeff Stevens and I’m new to Road Guardians. I’ve been riding since 2004, starting with a 2000 Yamaha VStar 650 and now with a 2007 Yamaha Road Star, putting on about 22950 miles between the two. I got my MC license taking the Basic Rider Course in 2004 because I didn’t have a bike of my own.

Once I got comfortable riding the VStar for 4 years I upgraded to the Road Star. But I still didn’t feel like an expert on the bike, especially taking curves and leaning. So I was kicking around ideas about joining a club and learning from others. It so happens I that club was Southern Cruisers Riders Club (SCRC #171) and one of the first events they hosted in January 2010 after I joined was an Accident Scene Management, Inc. (ASMI) class. I took the basic class because I figured if I rode enough I’d eventually come across an accident and I wanted to know what to do. At the basic class the instructors Daryl Coons and Chris Hawver introduced us to Road Guardians and the requirements needed to become one.

Since the basic class allowed me to become a RG, I signed up (getting the patch was also an attraction). I was interested in safety and the Certified Road Guardian level looked good. Since SCRC followed the basic ASMI with an advanced ASMI one month later I took that too and also completed a Heartsaver CPR class to meet the Certified level requirements. Once you go through these classes you realize you can’t do much unless you have some sort of equipment, so I bought a Cruiser level Trauma Pack from Safety or Survival. LLC (SOS) which I strap to my passenger sissy bar.

One of the things I like about the SCRC is that quite a few of them took all these classes along with me. So I know when I go on rides that I’ll still be in pretty good hands should anything happen. For sure I’ll be looking for the RG patch on everyone’s vest and I’ll have a new respect and understanding for just what that means.

Happy Riding!
Jeff

Related Links:
Accident Scene Management, Inc.
SOS Products
Southern Cruisers Riders Club

Top

Link to us!

Simply copy the code below the banner and paste it into your HTML document.

Thank you! Different sizes available upon request to members@roadguardians.org.

Top