It's Spring! Time to re-tune your skills...

[Lion_Lady]

Time to Retune Skills. Check your kit.
When was the last time you took the time to put yourself and your motorcycle through slow speed maneuvers or practiced emergency braking? If you haven’t in the last year, then it is a good idea to take 15 minutes or so, once you’ve completed your pre-ride check to do just that. Better still, get some of your friends together and help each other work on these life-saving skills and follow it with a long ride as a reward. What you practice regularly will come easily when you need it most.

One of the other motorcycle riding groups that my husband and I are involved with focuses on getting new riders started on a good foundation of proper skills through lots of support and regular PLP’s or Parking Lot Practices. Those who’ve been riding for years need to pay attention to maintaining skills by regularly practicing.

As a group activity, PLPs are actually kind of fun. We watch and coach each other, and have even swapped motorcycles for a turn around the course. Just find a parking lot that appears to be empty on weekends and that is in good repair, without a lot of grit or debris (bring a push broom along). Business parks are one choice, but you need to make sure you get permission from the owner before setting anything up. A church parking lot on a Saturday is another possible option.

Be prepared for the unthinkable:
Every rider should carry a basic first aid kit when they ride (heck, go a step further and take a first aid/CPR course), along with something to augment visibility in case of a crash. (Chemical light sticks or a small flashlight and reflective gear of some sort are a very good idea to have). The first aid kit doesn’t have to be a fancy or ready made kit, though they are quite handy because they are more or less ‘complete’. All that is really needed is a few basic items: sterile gloves (disposable, more than one pair), gauze squares (4x4 inch is the most useful size), rolled gauze, tape, and trauma shears. All this will fit inside a quart size zip seal bag and can be stowed in a corner of your tank bag. If you’ve got more room, then add more items: A flashlight, triangular bandage, chemical cold pack and Mylar emergency blanket, plus additional wound care supplies. Carrying a small pad of paper and a pen will prove invaluable if you need to take names and addresses of crash witnesses or get the contact information for an injured rider.

Throw away the tiny “scissors” that come in the store bought first aid kit and replace them with real medical trauma shears. These will cut easily through leather, denim and many other materials. Trauma shears are practically a ‘must have’ for a motorcycle first aid kit. Suppose a downed rider is uninjured but trapped by a piece of their gear pinned underneath their motorcycle? A good pair of trauma shears should be able to cut away the trapped clothing, freeing the rider.

If you regularly carry a first aid kit on your bike in a side case or other established location, consider adding a reflective Red Cross decal to the outside of the case so you can easily direct another to the location of your kit for retrieval. What if YOU are the one injured? How will your companions know where to find your first aid kit?

Take the time to open your first aid kit this week and make sure that everything inside is in good condition. Replace any expired consumables like burn gel, first aid cream, etc. Make sure the adhesive on your first aid tape hasn’t morphed into useless, sticky goo.

An excellent source for pre-packed First Aid kits and Visibility items is here: www.accidentscene.net. Click on "products" for the kits and stuff. (No, I don't work for them but I carry one of their kits and it is excellent.)

Cellular Phone Smarts:
Many of us carry cell phones while riding, assuming that it will take care of everything if there is trouble. What we don’t realize is, aside from the possibility of no service at all (as in mountainous areas), your 911 call could be received by a call center more than 100 miles away. Some newer phones have GPS locator chips that are activated when 911 is dialed. But, in many rural areas, the call centers are not equipped to read this GPS data. You must take some responsibility for knowing where you are as you ride.

Richelle Blatnik, one of the two trainers for my club's recent Accident Scene Management class, tells the tragic story of an incident outside of Chicago, where a drunk woman got her car onto a divided interstate highway, going the wrong direction. She traveled over 17 miles. Literally 100s of 911 calls came in to 3 different 911 call centers, from helpful drivers who saw the car and were reporting it. Yet, not one person was able to give enough critical information to pinpoint the dangerous driver’s whereabouts for the authorities to stop her. Dozens of patrol cars were sent out in vain. Finally the woman was stopped, when she collided head on with a young couple departing their wedding reception, killing them both.

When you are riding (following, leading or alone), make note of route numbers, street names and distance signs. Note landmarks (Jimmy’s Garage) and towns as you pass, along with the time and/or your odometer reading, occasionally. Making note of such details, will allow you to give more accurate and useful information to a 911 dispatcher and get emergency help more quickly if needed.

When using your cell phone to call 911, the first thing you should always do is give your cell phone number and your name. If you should be disconnected, the dispatcher can call YOU back. Tell them the number of riders/motorcycles involved and a brief description of what has happened. Always, stay on the line until you are released by the dispatcher.

I crashed last summer, in West Virginia, while at the Women on Wheels Rally. It was the same day that my husband and I took a short version of the Accident Scene Management course. Fortunately, I was not seriously injured, and because my husband had been tracking our path as we rode, he was able to say “We have a single motorcycle down, on route 219 heading north, about 2 miles outside of Parsons.” Because of the details that my husband was able to give, the dispatcher knew the turn (called Wild Maggie by the locals) and we had help within a few minutes.

Because motorcycling is an inherently risky activity. It is very possible that in your riding career, you will come upon a crash or be involved in one yourself. Prepare yourself by taking basic First Aid and/or a CPR class. Most folks will not stop if they encounter a crash because they don’t know what to do. Keep in mind that bystanders who attempt to aid are protected from litigation by nationwide Good Samaritan Laws.

Sometimes, just being there and holding someone’s hand is enough. Ride safe! - Pam Fisher, Safet Chair, BMWBMW Club

[totalmotorcycle]

Excellent motorcycle safety aweness post! Thanks for sharing it.

Mike.

[Lion_Lady]

BUMP (From last year, but STILL relevant.)

P

[ZooTech]

Those who’ve been riding for years need to pay attention to maintaining skills by regularly practicing.

uhhhh......

riding for years = regularly practicing

[Lion_Lady]

Those who’ve been riding for years need to pay attention to maintaining skills by regularly practicing.

uhhhh......

riding for years = regularly practicing

[ZooTech]

Still dealing with that butt rash are ya?

[CNF2002]

Thanks! The cellphone bit was especially helpful info.

Tragic about the newlywed couple. What saddens me more is that I doubt the drunk driver got the sentence she deserved.

There was a story here a while back about an illegal alien with no DL getting on the wrong way of the freeway. Killed the other people plus the child in his own car.