Why Wear A Helmet

"April showers bring May flowers." Many of us are aware of that phrase that really is the start of spring and the beginning of the riding season for many of us who live in the northern region of the USA. As we embark on another riding season there are many things that we need to be aware of, I will touch upon a few in this news letter.

Like the spring flowers that seem to pop out of the ground, motorcycles seem to pop out of the asphalt. Unlike the spring flowers, that most of us like to see, the motorcyclist is sometimes a thing that most motorists do not "see". There, for the most part, has been an absence of motorcycles on the roads for the past four to six months. The automobile drivers are not used to looking for us. As a result, we must make ourselves conspicuous and ride as though we are not visible to the others that we share the highways with.

To make ourselves and our motorcycles stand out so the automobile drivers can and do see us there are several things that come to mind that you can do. Wear bright colored clothing, yellow is a color that seems to say "look at me". Wear an orange reflective vest, like the ones that are offered by GWRRA, or reflective clothing again you want to be seen. Although the stock Gold Wing is well equipped with lights, adding a few more wouldn't hurt and may make it so you are more noticeable by others that we share the roads with. Don't just add lights to the back of the bike but add some to the front as well, a vast majority of accidents are head-on collisions where the motorists didn't see the motorcyclist. I have a set of chrome helmet holders that extend from the helmet hooks on my tail trunk, I have gotten several comments from motorists about how they are easily noticed by them as they come up behind me.

Many of us might be a little "rusty" in our riding skills from the winter layoff from riding. Here are a few suggestions on what you can do to hone your riding skills. Take an MSF riding course, either an RSS (Riding and Street Skills) or an ERC (Experienced Riders Course). The instructors are very good at pointing out bad habits and helping you hone the skills that you need to survive on todays' potentially dangerous highways. For a Rider Course location nearest you call (800) 446-9227.

If you can't find the time to take an ERC course, then maybe a little parking lot practice would help knock the rust off. For those of you that make regular chapter gatherings of the GWRRA your Rider Educator should have the necessary information to assist you if you want to practice on your own in some parking lot. If you don't, the MSF has booklets that you can get that will tell you what you need to know to set up some of the different exercises. Some of the things that you can use as markers to do the different exercises are drink cups, tennis balls (cut in half), or soccer cones (sold at a sporting goods store or Wal-Mart). If you use a parking lot that has line markers for car parking, I have found that the distance between lines to be 9 to 10 feet apart. For cone weaves that is the approximate distance that you want to use.

If you use the parking lot as a way to do your spring warm-up it might be a good idea to ride with a friend (or friends) and observe each other for some constructive critique. Plus it can be a lot of fun doing cone weaves, figure eights, and swerves with your friends, make a picnic of it.

Another thing to watch out for are the four legged critters that seem to want to cross the road just when we get there. The small animals are dangerous enough and can disloge an unweary rider. Larger animals like the deer can do some serious harm to a motorcyclists. In the spring, before the fields have started to green up the deer is very hard to spot because their brown color blends in with the brown color of the field (especially cullivated ones). Sometimes the only way to spot a deer is by it's movement as it crosses a field. In the spring, the animals are coming out of the forest looking for the fresh food of the meadows and along the sides of the road. Nothing can spoil a great ride in the countryside more than a run in with one of it's natural inhabitants.

Another thing about riding in rural areas are the farmers that are culivating their fields, which is not a problem while they are out in the fields. The problems arise when they go from field to field with their equpiment. Usually their equipment will leave large chunks of dirt when they exit a field which can raise your heart rate when you come upon these large chunks in your riding path. If it has rained after the dirt has been leveled off by our four and eighteen wheeled friends then the mud can be very slippery. If you come upon a farmer transporting his equipment between fields remember that he will not be moving as fast as you are and chances are he will not be able to see you at all. He will have his hands full trying to keep his equipment under control on the roadway that the two of you are sharing. Most of the equipment that I have seen will and does take up two lanes of roadway. Unless you have air horns he will not hear you if you beep at him. A little patience goes a long way in this case. I have met farm equipment coming at me on the roads and have had to go to the shoulder to keep from being run over.

I know there are many other things that I could write about with spring already here. These are a few of the thoughts that I have for this edition of E-Wing News. Hope this helps and gets you thinking of what you need to do to ride safe during this time of the riding season.

Thank You!

Wayne Stewart
E-WING NEWS
RIDER ENRICHMENT COORDINATOR

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Why Wear A Helmet

WHY WEAR A HELMET?

In the local newspaper just last week (about March 3rd) was an article about a local resident who didn't stop for a motorcyclist. The driver of the car was cited for a traffic violation. The motorcyclist was care-flighted to a regional medical center for head injuries, the local hospital was unable to properly care for the rider's injuries. The motorcyclist was not wearing his helmet.

Many of you may have read an article that came out either last summer or the summer before about a rider that was on life support for head injuries that was incurred during a motorcycle ride. This rider was rounding a curve in the road when he and his motorcycle came in contact with some oil. The bike went down, the rider's head came in contact with the pavement, shortly after, the rider went into a coma. The family of the rider was contemplating pulling the life support system that kept him alive. The ironic part of the story, that I read, is that the rider had a helmet attached to the "sissy bar" on his bike.

I am sure most of us that have ridden for a few years have either seen or heard about incidences that I have described above. Many of us have seen first hand what can happen if the bike goes down and the rider is not wearing a helmet. I have seen helmets that have protected it's rider when the bike went down, not a pretty site. The helmeted riders did not suffer any head related injuries because they were protected.

Lets take a look at some of the facts that the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) have published on their web site: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. (for more facts visit their web site)

*Head injuries are the leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.

*In 1997, 2,106 motorcyclists died and approximately 54,000 were injured in highway crashes in the United States.

*An unhelmeted motorcyclist is 40 percent more likely to incur a fatal head injury when involved in a crash.

*NHTSA estimates that motorcycle helmets reduce the likelihood of a fatality by 29 percent in a crash.

*From 1984 through 1997, NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 8,474 motorcyclists. If all motorcycle operators and passengers had worn helmets during those years, an estimated 6,817 more lives would have been saved.

Another fact about head injuries is that of what it costs us in terms of dollars. A privately conducted study put the average cost of hospital admissions for a non-helmeted rider at $17,704. We all pay through increased insurance premiums or through increased taxes for those individuals that become wards of the state because of their injuries.

I realize that I am "preaching to the choir" so to speak. For the most part Gold Wing riders are safety conscience. Over the few years that I have been involved with Gold Wings and the few events that I have been at I have not been overly impressed with helmet usage. Let me explain why I made that last comment. I met an individual who is a chapter educator at a non-Gold Wing event who did not want to wear a helmet because it "choked him when he wore it" and "it wasn't a Gold Wing sponsored event. The first Gold Wing Rally that I attended I was surprised at the number of Gold Wing riders that were riding their Gold Wings around the camp grounds and in the congested vendor area helmetless.

As a former chapter rider educator, I was instructed that all we could do was heavily suggest all our riders wear helmets. On all our official outings everyone wore a helmet. Yet if it wasn't an official outing many of our members chose not to wear their helmets.

I was brought up to always wear a helmet when you are mounted on a motorcycle. If you should happen to go down on a motorcycle and your helmet is not on your head you stand a very good chance of becoming one of \par those statistics that I mentioned earlier in the article.

Wearing a motorcycle helmet shows that you care about your personal safety and that you are a conscience rider. It also shows that you care for your families in that you want to be around to see them grow and you want to grow old with them.

Thank You!

Wayne Stewart
E-WING NEWS
RIDER ENRICHMENT COORDINATOR

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Crowded Raods

CROWDED ROADS

It started a little over a year ago when GWRRA member Les Ferguson made a comment to OHN-2's ACD Roger Orchard that it seemed to him that the highways were getting more crowded. Roger didn't forget the conversation with Les, he started doing some research. What he found verified what he and Les had been discussing. I found what Roger had discovered was quite interesting and it prompted me to write this article.In the past 10 years our population has increased by 15%, at the same time the amount of highway usage has increased by 250%. These are some rather staggering numbers. Some of the states with large increases in highway usage are California, New York, and Ohio .

If you don't want to believe the numbers just listen to the radio on your commute to work or watch your local television station for the traffic reports. Around most cities there are traffic tie-ups of some sort that can last for some extended amounts of time. This, of course will extend your travel time to work or to wherever your destination may be if you are traveling for pleasure, like when you are out on the "Wing".

What is the government doing about this problem? According to what I could find, they are planning on expanding some roads and highways by adding lanes, improve sidewalks and bike paths and increase cost-efficient and convenient transits. They want to implement programs to reduce the number of vehicles on the highways during peak hours by flex-time programs and increased levels of ride sharing.

Traffic congestion causes increased travel time, which relates to what it costs the people to cough up in the congestion. For instance it costs the average driver $545 if you drive around the Cincinnati OH-KY area or $1,370 if in the Los Angeles, CA area. I can only assume from what I have read, that this is what costs are incurred by the time you get through the congestion if you were to be paid a wage.

What does that mean to us Gold Wing riders? It means that we have to share the highways with larger numbers of drivers on the roadways. Those of us that use the interstate system, it means that we will sit in bottlenecks for longer periods of time.
It seems to me that any time someone finds a good place to go or a decent road to ride many others will follow. Of course this leads to traffic congestion in these popular areas. It seems that we have become a nation of sheep, in the fact that many of us want to go where the other person goes.

What can we do in becoming part of the solution rather than part of the problem? Adjust your riding times so that you are not out with the "rush hour" crowd. Plan your route to keep away from congested areas whenever possible. Keep your group small, so that you can ride at a speed that will keep up with the flow of traffic. If during a group ride you have a large number of bikes and riders, insure that the smaller groups stagger their start times enough to allow normal vehicular traffic to get around you if they need to. You also need to communicate in the individual group and between groups. I don't want to get into group riding techniques, this should be covered by your Chapter Educator for those of you that are GWRRA members.

When I travel, I try to manage my time so that I am not near a city during rush hour. Yet there are times when it can't be helped. I have also found that when traveling the interstate system there are times where you have to exceed the posted limits to keep up with traffic or get run over, then you sit in a "parking lot" for what seems like hours waiting for the congestion to clear and your are in the middle of nowhere.

I have found that when I am in no great hurry to get from point "A" to point "B" (which is very seldom) taking the rural routes and skirting the cities can be fun and relaxing. Then there is the added benefit of seeing some of the greatest country that our nation is noted for.

Thanks,
Wayne

For more information visit the web sites:
http://www.tripnet.org/congestionworsenrelease.htm
http://www.tripnet.org/abalancedapproachtorelievingcongestion.htm

Wayne Stewart
E-Wing News
Rider Enrichment
gwrider70@hotmail.com

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Drowsy Drivers

DROWSY DRIVERS

As motorcyclists, we encounter all kinds of situations that we must be constantly vigilant of. The MSF teaches that there are better than 1200 different skills that we must master to become a proficient motorcyclist. We are taught to aggressively scan for any dangers that may lurk ahead of us. It also strongly suggested that we take an accredited MSF course every few years, to keep abreast of changes and to keep our minds sharp.

According to the latest statistics available from the NHTSA, which are several years old, there are 56,000 accidents per year that can be attributed to drivers falling asleep behind the wheel. That number breaks down to 40,000 accidents as being "non-fatal" and 16,000 "fatal" accidents. To me these are rather alarming numbers.

Several years ago I wrote an article for my GWRRA chapter, quoting numbers substantially below what is quoted above [the above numbers are at least 3 years old]. So this tells me that the problem is either getting worse or being recognized more. As an avid rider this means that is another thing to be aware of, not only in my own riding profile but in the riding/driving of those around me.

Who is most likely to fall asleep behind the wheel? Falling asleep behind the wheel is something that can happen to any of us and has perhaps happened to many of us at one time or another. The most likely candidates to encounter this problem are the drivers between the ages of 18 and 24. Reason being, this age group is more likely to work and party and not get the proper amount rest in-between. But there isn't an age group that is immune to this problem.

Perhaps one of the worse times to be out in traffic is at the end of the normal work day.Most everyone is tired from work, the sun is beating into your vehicle and your circadian clock says it's nap time. This is also prime time for "road rage" to occur because our level of tolerance is at an all time low. Statistically though the hours between 2 A.M. and 6 A.M.are the worse times to be out on the roads. This time frame is where a majority of the accidents occur from drivers falling asleep.

In any case how do we recognize someone is driving while they are drowsy. The symptoms are much like one that is under the influence of alcohol. The vehicle will swerve in the lane, or all over the road. Speeds can be erratic, slow then fast then slow again etc..

How do we recognize the danger signs that we are getting drowsy? There are several signs that let us know that we aren't driving at 100%. If your eyes start closing by themselves, you have difficulty paying attention, frequent yawning, or you find yourself swerving in your lane or going off the side of the road chances are you need to pull off the road before you hurt yourself or someone else.

What can you do if you are experiencing the danger signs of falling asleep? Pull off the road, take a nap for 15 to 20 minutes, when you wake up do some simple exercises like waving your arms, or doing jumping jacks. Sometimes just stopping and getting the blood flowing by running in place or doing jumping jacks helps. Consume some caffeine helps also.

Here are some things you can do prior to departing on a long trip to combat drowsiness. Pack your things early enough so you can get a good night's sleep before you leave. Set driving limits as to how you plan on traveling in a day. Get a good night's sleep before you leave on a trip. Avoid drugs that can cause drowsiness. Stop at regular intervals to get the blood flowing through your body. Keep your mind alert by aggressively scanning the area around you constantly.

One thing you may have to predicate your driving day on, is the availability of hotels or places to spend the night. I have found that if you don't have advance reservations you might not have a place to sleep when you get to where you are planning on stopping for the night.

As a motorcyclist, we must be constantly aware of our surroundings. We are not immune to riding drowsy as many of us take trips, some long and some not so long. We are also on the roads with some others that are not alert and should have
prepared for their trip earlier than they did.

Wayne Stewart
E-Wing News
Rider Enrichment

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Cold Weather Riding

Knowing Your Limits For Cold Weather Riding

Here it is, January already and our winter riding season is upon us. Well, winter riding season for those of us that are adventurous enough to ride when the temperatures are a little less than desirable. I happen to be one of those riders that tries to squeeze in a ride even when the weather is a little less than desirable.

I have been riding for a few years and have learned what I am capable of and how far I can go. Every person who rides needs to be aware of their own personal limits and riding skills. When you know what your capabilities are, ride within the window of those abilities. Always try to improve your abilities, but do so safely. One thing that I have learned is that these limits will change from year to year. Also the older you get the more your tolerance for extremes will change.

What do I look at before I venture out for a winter ride? First is road conditions. I don't go out if I know that the roads are slippery or going to be slippery. If we have had a recent snow storm and the roads have been salted I'll wait for a few days to let the four wheelers soak up most of the salt and sand that the road crews have thrown down. The second thing that I check is the projected weather. I look at the forecasted temperature, and anticipated precipitation. I normally will ride to work, which is about a 25 minute trip. The trip isn't very long but long enough for the toes and fingers to start to feel cold.

When I check the morning weather forecast I am looking for the current temperature, the forecasted 5 p.m. temperature and weather. Is it supposed to be clear, flurries or stormy during the day? During the winter months if there is a chance of inclement weather the Wing will just have to stay home. Which means that I'll have to drive the dreaded four wheeler.

I don't ride with any electrical body warming devices. My normal riding attire is a pair of ski pants that I bought from Wal-Mart about 5 years ago, a warm insulated jacket with a furry collar to keep my body and neck warm, ski gloves, warm socks and winter boots. I also will dress in layers, about three to four. Layering your clothes is the best way to preserve your body heat, by using the air gaps between layers for warmth. Thus far, I haven't had the need for electric vests or gloves and such, but I will admit that I don't venture out very far when it is really cold.

If I am out on an extended winter ride, I let someone know where I am going and how long I plan on being gone. I also carry a cell phone with me in case I get into trouble and need assistance or will be later than planned. If I get cold I will stop for something warm to drink and give the body a chance to get warmed up. This is when I normally need to call home to let my better half know what is going on.

The one thing that I must caution everyone about, is those four wheelers, and semi's that we share the roads with. If you think they don't see us during the summer when we are out in great numbers, they aren't even looking for a motorcycle
during the winter. As a result, we have to be very aware of what is happening around us, and ride like no one sees us. Wear clothing that is bright and easily seen from a long ways off.

There are some that think riding a motorcycle in the winter is crazy. There are many nice days during the winter months that can be ridden safely if you know your limits and plan ahead. Plus, I don't worry about storing the Wing in some obscure corner of the garage during the winter months.

Wayne Stewart
E-WING NEWS
Rider Enrichment
gwrider70@hotmail.com

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