August 2010

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In this issue: What's New? 1. A word from the Director: Rescue Riders & Road Guardians, a perfect fit!: Vicki Sanfelipo 2. Tech Tip: Chris Holland 3. All Over The Map: Leading a Group Ride: John Garley 4. BBC Regional: Southeast 5. Good Samaritan: Dean Akey, founder of Rescue Riders 6. Link to us

What's New!

-ASMI Basic Refresher Course now available online!

ASMI'S Refresher classes

Great news!!!! Online refreshers are now available making it easy and convenient to maintain your certification. Refreshers are recommended every two years. You must have completed a class in the last two years so those who took an ASMI class in 2007 or earlier are encouraged to take the full class again. Much is forgotten over a three year period of time and changes to EMS recommendations are incorporated as they are made. For those who have completed the Basic class and want to go on to take Advanced, this is an excellent refresher of material. For those who have taken the Advanced class you have two choices, you can take this online refresher (which will keep you current for the next two years) or you can wait for the Advanced Refresher that will come out in two months. If you have not completed training yet, check our website for classes or to see if there is an instructor near you.

Click here for the class schedule
Click here to find an instructor near you

New Road Guardian Member Discounts

-10% off Street Eagle Motorcycle Rentals ( Milwaukee and Las Vegas locations only)
-IMS Show Discounts for 2010-2011 schedule
-Online refresher classes - $10.00 off
-BBC registration - $5.00 off in addition to group discounts!
-Critical Medical Information Discounts – varies depending on plan

If you're not cashing in on these discounts while supporting ASMI’s mission to reduce injuries and fatalities to bikers, sign up now at www.roadguardians.org/members.php

First Regional Biker's Betterment Conference!

BBC Southeast will be held Saturday, November 13th at Smokin' Harley Davidson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina!

More information by clicking the banner above!

Featuring topics on motorcycle safety and more! Expanding your concept of motorcycle safety and giving you things to consider during those upcoming winter months.

Join us by registering at www.roadguardians.org/bbc.php

 

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A word from the Director
by Vicki Sanfelipo

Rescue Riders & Road Guardians, a perfect fit!

I have found many people to be confused between the two organizations thinking that they are in competition with each other. Not true! Read on to learn more……

Accident Scene Management, Inc was established in 1996. Our mission statement is "to reduce injuries and fatalities to motorcyclists through education". We have trained 16,000 students in motorcycle trauma response but there are 18 million motorcyclists in the USA! We train both motorcyclists and EMS and are working with the EMS to implement a Best Practice model for surviving motorcycle trauma. January 7th, ASMI launched a program of Resources, Rewards, & Recognition meant to encourage life long learning among motorcyclists called the “Road Guardians” (RGs). RGs.deal with the educational component of motorcycle trauma and are not in any way involved with providing coordinated support to events or developing chapters.

Rescue Riders is a separate non-profit that takes those who have been properly trained in motorcycle trauma response and puts that training into action. They coordinate volunteers and have chapters. According to their mission statement taken directly from the Rescue Rider website:

The Rescue Riders program was established to exemplify how bikers as individuals, and collectively, make our great nation a safer and more compassionate place to live.

We accomplish our mission by recruiting bikers into public service in support of each other, our communities and our nation. We do this by helping provide our volunteers with the tools and training needed to provide emergency assistance in times of need.

Rescue Riders offer assistance on an individual basis as Good Samaritan's, and directly support professional emergency response organizations in times of need. Quite simply, Rescue Riders invest their time in helping those in need.

What a perfect fit we are! ASMI/RGs provides the education and Rescue Rider volunteers take that education and put it into action, providing service to their communities! We hope you find RGs useful whether you are enjoying the free resources on our website at www.roadguardians.org or you participate in our annual membership program available only to ASMI students who have completed an ASMI class. Membership rewards the student and provides incentives to continue the quest for knowledge.
Questions? Go to: http://www.roadguardians.org/contact.php

Tech Tip
by Chris Holland

New!!!! Chris Holland is a new columnist for Road Guardians. He will offer advice and tips for keeping your bike in tip top shape. We asked Chris to introduce himself in this first edition. He encourages readers to ask questions!

Chris will be using the Road Guardians Blog as an open forum for your questions, at: www.roadguardians.org/blog
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I started my Adult life as a U.S. Infantry Soldier for nearly 7 years. During this time I was deployed to many countries, including Kosovo, Iraq, and many others I can't name. After being medically discharged from the U.S. Army I decided to make something of myself by going to school as a Motorcycle Mechanic. What better place to become one than at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, Arizona! I completed their course for all Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 1930's until now as well as an entry level course for all motorcycle brands. I can essentially work on anything with wheels and some without, so please send me any questions you may have and I do mean any. I will reply as best and as fast as I can. I will also post tips for pre-ride checks what you should do every time you get on your bike. So keep an eye out and ask lots of questions I absolutely love what I do and I love trouble shooting so ask away. I look forward to your questions.

Here is the first Q&A submitted by Karen Hansen

Karen: I got a stumper for you. My speedometer was malfunctioning, started right when I almost ran out of gas. It was screwy for a while (reading 120 mph when I just took off in first gear), then it started working pretty steady again after about a month. Last night ran out of gas completely, and my speedometer is all messed up again! Any thoughts on how that's linked to running out of gas?

Chris: Good question, it depends on if you whole dash system is linked together electrically or not, also your speedometer might be cable driven and the cable could be going bad. But if it is electric then I would check your connections coming from your speedometer all the way down to the sensor (probably around your transmission) my best educated guess without seeing the bike is that it's just coincidental with the fuel and your speedometer has a bad connection somewhere between your sensor and your speedometer causing it to act weird sometimes and not all the time I would check your wires around it for sure. Maybe use a bike or ATV jack to lift up the bike (secure it very well with a ratchet strap so it does not fall) make sure the rear wheel is off the ground, and let it run in first at idle and try wiggling the wires around the speedometer and your sensor (if you have a service or owners manual for your bike they should tell you where to look) to see if it starts acting weird again. My verdict is: probably loose or damaged wire(s) getting an intermittent connection causing it to act funny "once in a while". Hope this helps, let me know if I can help further.

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All Over the Map
by John Garley

Leading a Group Ride

Part 1- Safely Maintaining Your Schedule J. Garley

Rather than a discussion of selecting roads and planning a route, let’s get into some practices that allow riders in a group to have a safe and enjoyable time. During pre-ride meetings, it is common for riders ask the leader for a route map. In addition to simple curiosity, riders want to know what’s in-store for them on the ride.

Perhaps you know that I think quite highly of H-D Ride Planner. Nonetheless it is ill suited at creating a useful map, particularly for rides longer than 50 miles. Necessary details are just too small to read, especially when attached to the inside of your windshield or taped to your gas tank. I know, I’ve taped maps in each location. Riders in a group don’t need a map because they aren’t leading or navigating; rather they follow. What they do want to know is: Where are we? What road(s) were we on? When is our next stop (and of course the old reliable “are we there yet?”)

Riders tend to refill their gas tank or head for the bathroom at every stop out of concern for the length of the next leg of the trip. And that my friend, is why rest stops take so long. And that is why the leader might try to go too far between breaks in an effort to reduce the number of rest stops. And that isn’t safe or fun. And my English teacher told me not to start sentences with “And.” And that’s just too bad.

On a formal group ride, such as a long HOG Chapter ride, rather than handing out a map, I provide a list or table describing the route. Each line or row of the table pertains to a segment of the ride. The first column indicates the time (of day) when we begin that leg of the ride. Then a list of the road or highway names, the name of the rest stop town (in bold), the time (of day) we will get to that stop (or ultimately to the end of the ride), and the distance of that segment. Let’s review: Start time, road names, town, arrival time, distance.

I plan rest stops based on time, not distance and I stop every 55 to 75 minutes. Obviously at highway speeds, this is 60 to 70 miles. On the roads that I prefer to ride, this is 35 to 50 miles between stops. During my pre-ride meeting, the list/table is reviewed and I ask each rider to understand that they do not need to fill their tank (or head for the head) every time we stop because they can see all the subsequent distances and timing between stops. I also plan 10 to 20 minute rest breaks depending on group size. Usually my rest stops are 15 minutes.

Stopping every hour may sound awful. But if you can obtain the riders’ cooperation regarding filling up and emptying out, a good, fun and safe pace can result.

Now for more details, specifically: How can the time between stops be accurately predicted?

In addition to route layout, H-D’s Ride Planner (ref prior articles) provides the distance between “locations” and predicts the time to get from here to there. I’ve found it to be accurate. Let’s say you have the following route and the prior rest stop (Location 3) is Red Wing. Which town is the best choice for the next rest stop? First you need to assure a “waypoint” is located in the town. As seen below, Nelson happens to have a waypoint (red flag), but Maiden Rock, Stockholm and Pepin do not. We will look into the time it takes to ride from Red Wing to Nelson first.

Place the mouse pointer over the Waypoint (red flag) at Nelson, right click and select Change to location.
(note: you actually have to be in H-D's planner to do this!)

What we find (above), is that the time to ride from Location 3 (Red Wing) to Location 4 (Nelson) is 1:22 which is a longer segment than I recommend for a group ride.

Right click on Location 4 (Nelson) and select Change to Waypoint.

Based on the map-scale indicator in the lower right corner, Stockholm appears to be 20 minutes closer to Red Wing. To find out, move the mouse pointer over the red line somewhere near Stockholm, accuracy is unimportant. Left click/hold and drag the line away. Continue holding and notice that you are going to create a waypoint somewhere between the adjacent red flags. Continue holding and move the pointer over Stockholm (now accuracy becomes important, but not critical). Release the left mouse button and note where the new waypoint is located. If it isn’t close to Stockholm, or if it is on a near-by road that is not on your route, zoom in, left click and drag this new waypoint into the middle of Stockholm. As before, put the pointer over the Stockholm waypoint, right click, and Change to location.

Good guess; the time to ride this route from Location 3 (Redwing) to Location 4 (Stockholm) is 1:04. Adding waypoints and/or locations do not need to be saved. Think of the above exercise as a computer form of scratch paper.

Using a tool such as Route Planner provides the information for the ride-handout. I commonly round these numbers up generously. A 1hour & 1 minute ride segment that starts at 11:15 will indicate arrival at 12:20 for example. This is because groups, especially larger groups go slower than a bike or two. This is especially true at stop signs, so plan for it rather than struggle to hurry up to stay on schedule.

Once underway, you control the scheduled departures. Leaving rest stops on time is enhanced by starting your engine one minute prior to departure (per the first column). I also ask (this is important) the last person I see exiting the building if everyone is out of the restrooms. The first departure is different because there always seems to be late arrivals. Anticipate late departure from your starting location by “padding” the duration of the first segment. Select the first rest stop 50 minutes away, but call it an hour.

Whether the riders agree with the pace, the number of stops, or their duration, they will appreciate knowing that you have a plan and that you are in control.

© 2010 John Garley

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Good Samaritan
by Dean Akey

Good Samaritan
Written by Dean Akey, founder of Rescue Riders. Reprinted with permission

The parable of the Good Samaritan comes to us from Luke 10:30-37. In the parable, a man was going along the way and suddenly found himself in great dismay He was robbed, beaten and left for dead. A priest happened to go down the street and saw the man whom the robbers did beat, but he passed him by on the other side. A Levite also did the same. Finally, a Samaritan saw & took pity on the man. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn and then the next day paid the innkeeper to care for the man until recovered.

The term Samaritan was used to describe residents of “Samaria" an ancient city and country that during this time was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Referring to someone as a “Good Samaritan” during this time period would be like calling someone a “Good American”. Maybe that’s why we refer to the past as the good old days as words meant what they meant.

Today if you hear the term “Good Samaritan” a number of different definitions and images come to mind. Legally defining this subject matter is equally daunting task with many of our states creating their own definitions. While many countries do have laws that require citizens to stop and provide aid, in America we have no such requirements. There are some states that do consider it an act of negligence if a person doesn’t at least call 911 for help. So are you a Good Samaritan? According to law enforcement agency reports, less than 10% of our citizens actually do stop to lend a hand to someone in need. Not a very good showing if you ask me.

Generally speaking, a Good Samaritan in legal terms refers to someone who voluntarily provides aid in an emergency to ill or injured people. Volunteer “Good Samaritans” who do provide aid are expected to be reasonably careful providing care that is in the best interests of the injured or ill person. We will spend some more time on this in a bit.

Good Samaritan laws which grant immunity from civil liability, vary from state to state. Generally speaking, Provisions of Good Samaritan Laws include the following three criteria.

1. Aid must be given as a result of emergency (illness or injury).

2. Must not give aid for payment or expect payment which includes rewards.

3. Emergency care must not be given in grossly negligent way or meant to harm the victim. Care must be given in good faith.

Ok, if you are still with me you are probably wondering what would be considered grossly negligent.

Gross Negligence: People who give aid to others must be prudent in their care offered. For example, lets assume that you are in a restaurant and notice a man choking and have been trained in CPR & First Aid, you may offer to provide aid via a Heimlich maneuver or a few hard taps on the back. Should the victim agree, your actions would be considered prudent care as long as you provided the aid as you have been trained. Now let’s say that you saw this episode of MacGyver on the television where the mighty Mac uses a pen knife & straw to perform an emergency tracheotomy. If you try to provide aid the MacGyver way, you now are providing care above and beyond your training which would most likely be considered grossly negligent.
So what does this really mean to you? It means that the more relevant training & certifications you hold, the more aid you can provide to victims and enjoy protection under Good Samaritan Laws. One question to ask yourself, are your training & certifications current? It does matter.

To better understand Good Samaritan Laws, there are a few key terms & concepts that you should know. To start with, what happens when you arrive at the scene of an accident? Let’s face it, some of us are a bit scary looking. If your victim is an 88 year old woman, she may be a bit nervous about you cutting off her pants to expose an open femur fracture. Prior to providing any aid you must first obtain Consent..

Consent: You need to first obtain permission of conscious injured persons to give first aid. Respect their wishes if they refuse. When you happen on an injured victim, always state your name and any relevant training you have. Then inquire if you can assist them. Example, “I’m John, I am a Rescue Rider and have been trained to provide first aid in situations like these by completing basic & advanced Accident Scene Management courses. Would you like me to help you?”
If they reject your aid and you believe potential the victim’s life may be in danger explain this to them. If they still reject, call 911 and inform them of the situation. Do not provide aid unless the victim either provides consent or their status changes (unconscious). For those who are unconscious or unable to give consent (like an infant), it’s considered “implied consent” if you assist by giving first aid or CPR. Guess what can happen if you don’t obtain consent and still provide aid? You can be charged with Assault or Battery.

Assault or Battery: Victims who do not fall under implied consent must still consent to care for the rescuer to be considered a Good Samaritan.

Ok, now you have been given consent, are trained to provide aid and are doing so in a reasonable manner, what’s next? Let’s say the victims friends arrive on scene while you are providing CPR. They tell you that they can take over and stay with their friend until the ambulance arrives. Don’t get caught in this situation. In order to leave a victim after you have started to provide aid, you will need to hand off care to someone who has at least the same level of training you do. Failing to do this can be considered Abandonment.

Abandonment: In most areas, once you initiate care you still need to hand off to the same or higher level of care. In some rural areas, this may mean a ride to the hospital.
Many of our volunteers are medical professionals. As licensed health care providers, we have to comply with regulations which state what type of care we can provide. This is called Scope of Practice. I mention this as you may or may not be a licensed health care professional but you should understand this concept and what it means to you.

Scope of Practice: Skills that licensed healthcare providers are trained to do. Scope of practice is defined by the government that issues the license, usually a state. Every healthcare provider has a scope of practice, except physicians. Physicians have the ability to develop new skills as necessary. The reason this concept is important to all Good Samaritans is it defines what you can & cannot do. As an unlicensed Good Samaritan, to be protected from civil liability, you need to provide prudent care. Prudent care for health care professionals is based upon their level of training amongst other things. This concept should apply to you. To give prudent care, only provide aid in a manner that is consistent with the training you have completed.

By following these simple rules, you should be protected from civil liability under your Good Samaritan Laws. I suggest you take a moment to read the individual Good Samaritan laws of your state. I hope this article has helped you better understand Good Samaritan laws and stress the importance of continuing to train or complete refresher courses.

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