The Lonely Rider

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A collection of different road safety videos. (very powerful)

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This is a new video campaign circulating in the UK highlighting the dangers of texting while driving. It is rather graphic but does make a point.

We make choices when we drive and choosing to use your phone shouldn’t be one of them. It’s not just texting with your cell phone but anything that we choose to do in addition to driving. No matter what it is, it draws our attention away from the more important task of driving and shouldn’t be acceptable.

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It all started in the wee hours Saturday morning when I went to bed at 1:30am but at restful night wasn’t going to happen. Perhaps I was excited about the day to come, perhaps it was my thoughts were filled about Stella and her trip to Colorado but for the life of me, I couldn’t sleep. At 3am I layed awake in bed and gave up on trying to sleep altogether.

I hopped in the shower and prepared for a long day. After prepping my bike with snacks, water and the banner & decals for RoadAwareness.ca, I hit the road around 4:30am on my way to Port Dover.

About a week earlier, I was invited to attend the Girlz Ride to Dover as a guest speaker to talk about road safety and awareness and to promote the third RoadAwareness.ca Rally of the year the next day.

I arrived in Port Dover around 6:30am and although much of the town was still sleeping soundly, some of the locals had already made their way to the beach where I decided to park my bike. Although I wasn’t tired, I decided to stretch out on a picnic bench by the beach to rest my eyes. In the background I could hear local businesses preparing for the day punctuated with the occasional Harley passing on nearby streets. Although with those loud pipes, they could of been several streets away.

After a couple hours of relaxing with my thoughts, I decided to walk around town and eventually made my way over to where the Girlz Ride was to meet up and offered to assist local businesses in setting up their tents. The feature sponsor was “On the Fringe” which sells various riding gear, most of which is for women.

Eventually the lady riders showed up in the early afternoon, rather late from some highway closures they encountered along the way from their ride in from Toronto. By this point, I was getting tired having not gotten more then an hour of sleep and despite consuming lots of water, the heat was getting to me as the mercury climbed and with the humidity it felt like 38 Celsius. We were all very hot and sticky and the river that ran beside us was looking pretty good as I became tempted to jump in fully clothed just to cool down.

Eventually the time came for me to speak to the crowd about RoadAwareness.ca and safe riding in general and not long afterward everyone dispersed. I packed up my banner and decals and made my way to Mansfield to my buddy John’s place for a BBQ. He was having some fellow riders over after hosting his own ride for newer riders so they could become comfortable with all that’s involved with riding in a group, which can be daunting for newbies.

Around 10pm I figured it was time to excuse myself and head home. I needed to at least try and get a few hours of sleep before my big RoadAwareness rally the next morning. I didn’t really want to part such good company and lively discussions we were all sharing about our various riding adventures but if I didn’t get some rest, I knew I would be a wreck the next day and I really needed to be on my “A” game.

I arrived home around midnight and wouldn’t you know it…I couldn’t sleep. Once again, I didn’t get to bed until about 1am and was wide awake by 7am. This wasn’t looking good. Once again I prepped my bike and headed off to the first rally point in North York. When I arrived, I was greeted by my support team from MotoLimo.com. Once again, they gave up part of their weekend and both of their custom motorcycle support trucks (not to mention gas) to follow us around all day in support of the cause. If any rider needed help, they were there following us.

We departed North York with about 60 riders and headed out on to the highway towards our mid-way rally point in the town of Simcoe (just north of Port Dover). Along the way we picked up about 15 more riders who were waiting on the side of the highway for us to pass.

Two hours and two construction zones later, we finally arrived at BS Custom Motorcycles in Simcoe. Our gratious hosts (owners of BS Custom), greeted us with lots of cold water and soft drinks that came in very handy for our dehydrated and fatigued riders. Once again, the heat was pushing 40 degrees and everyone was feeling it. Most riders headed off for lunch while I stayed behind to talk to a local reporter from the Simcoe Reformer.

After doing a raffle for prizes donated by On The Fringe, Vision Cycle and Kahuna Powersports, it was time to hit the road in an attempt to keep to our schedule. I was hoping to reach our final destination in Brampton by 4pm. As it turned out, we only arrived 30min late.

We pulled into the parking lot of Formula Kartways to a prior arranged stunt show along with the attendance of Peel Regional Police who arrived to show their support of the RoadAwareness.ca campaign. Although, they did express some concerns about the stunt riding and the lack of an ambulance and even though it was being done on private property, they found themselves in an awkward position. Considering the support they’ve shown for my campaign and not wanting to alienate them, I ended the stunt show.

All in all, it was a great weekend despite the insane heat. I ended up doing two motorcycle events, passed through countless cities and towns, clocked over 700kms and suffered a touch of heat stroke and some serious fatigue.

More riding is yet to come!
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Senate Bill 1967, authored by Texas State Senator John Carona (R-Dallas) and sponsored by Representative Norma “Da’Lady” Chavez (D-El Paso), introduces many motorcycle-related changes in the Lone Star State.

Included in the bill are:

1) funding by Texas Department of Transportation for a public awareness campaign to promote motorcyclist safety and the concept of sharing the road with motorcyclists;
2) changes to the definition of a motorcycle to include certain enclosed three-wheeled passenger vehicles;
3) changes to the licensing requirements for enclosed three-wheeled passenger vehicles;
4) a requirement for all applicants for a motorcycle license or endorsement on a regular or commercial driver’s license to provide proof of successful completion of a basic motorcycle operator training course;
5) penalties for failure to yield the right-of-way violations resulting in bodily injury range from $500 to $2,000 while those resulting in serious bodily injury range from $1,000 to $4,000;
6) a prohibition against stopping or detaining a motorcycle operator or passenger solely to determine whether the person has successfully completed a motorcycle operator training and safety course or is covered by a health insurance plan;
7) a requirement for the Department of Transportation to develop a standard of proof of health insurance coverage for adult motorcycle operators and passengers; and
a requirement that all driver education courses or driving safety courses include information on motorcycle awareness, dangers of failure to yield the right-of-way to motorcyclists, and the need to share the road with motorcyclists.

Governor Rick Perry signed the bill into law on June 19; it becomes effective September 1, 2009.

“We made history, Warriors” exclaimed Sputnik, State Chairman of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA-II) and Chairman of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative Task Force (NCOM-LTF). “We owe Da’Lady and her entire staff a huge debt of gratitude for all the work they did for riders this session.”

This is the type of forward government thinking that we require here in Ontario and I would be first in line to stand up for similar changes to our laws here. Way to go Texas!
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For Immediate Release
August 18th, 2009

Sunday August 16th marked the third Awareness Rally of 2009 and once again it was a huge success. About 60 riders met up at the starting point in North York in a parking lot adjacent to a local riding school as they prepared for their Ministry test later in the day. Once again, our sponsors MotoLimo.com were on hand and followed us the whole day in their specialized service vehicles should any rider require assistance.

We headed off as one fairly large group and made our way onto the highway. Our route was fairly simple with the first half on the major highways, followed by secondary highways once we cleared Hamilton. We even picked up more than a dozen riders along the way who were waiting for us to pass by near Oakville bringing our numbers to nearly 90 bikes. Unfortunately we came up on traffic as we negotiated a few construction zones and we got split up into smaller groups as we expected would happen.

Eventually, most of us made it to the mid point in Simcoe where we were greeted by our gracious hosts Brent and Sheri, owners of BS Custom Motorcycle. Cold water and soft drinks were a very welcome sight considering the sweltering heat nearing 40c with the humidity. There was even fresh coffee, although that was mostly for them as they waited for us in the much cooler shade for our arrival.

When we pulled in, we found a mock crash scene setup right at the end of their driveway, with an SUV parked with an old wrecked dirt bike laying in front of it and a mannequin laying on the hood representing an injured rider. This certainly caught the attention of many drivers passing by. That along with many signs that had been erected saying, “Look Twice – Save a Life” and “Share the Road” helped drive home the message that we were trying to send. Road safety affects us all and it starts with safer, more attentive motorists.

Many riders headed down the street to grab some lunch while I hung out with our hosts and talked to a reporter from a local newspaper. Once everyone returned, we held a raffle for various prizes donated by On The Fringe (Port Dover), Kahuna Powersports (Toronto) and Vision Cycle (Milton).

Special thanks go to the Simcoe OPP for blocking a lane for all of us to depart BS Custom in a safe manner. We continued our rally passing through, Brantford and Cambridge, heading for our final destination at Formula Kartways in Brampton where we were entertained by the amazing control and skills of some performance riders including “Country” from CIX (all the way from Illinois), and Jeff Kacan from Twisted Intentions. Once again Peel Regional Police showed up to show their support of the RoadAwareness campaign, however due to some concerns they had, I agreed to shut down the show to alleviate the somewhat awkward position they found themselves in. In all fairness to them, they support what we are doing as a whole but didn’t want to be in a position of watching someone get hurt during the stunt show.

I was once again reminded that despite the opinions of some of our fellow motorcyclists, the police aren’t just out to get us every chance they get and our relationship with them certainly has room for improvement. It’s amazing what can come out of having open, candid and rational discussions. I would even go so far as to say that they would like to improve relationships between them and the motorcycling community. We can do our part by not riding irresponsibly and offering up a touch more respect.

All in all it was a fantastic day and a great ride. By the end though, nearly everyone was feeling the effects of fatigue, dehydration and a touch of heat stroke.

A special thanks goes out to Sandra Dawson from my team who organized all the details of the Simcoe rally point. Her efforts were key in making our stop at BS Custom Motorcycle a huge success. Additional thanks go out to Lori from 2 Wheel Promotions for helping to spread the word about the event and to Formula Kartways for allowing us to use their parking lot while they undergo some renovations. Lastly, thank you to those who volunteered to lead the groups.

Stay tuned for our future events. We hope to hold another rally near the end of the season and 2010 is shaping up to be a great year with a massive Scavenger Hunt style event already in the works.

Shaun de Jager
Founder
RoadAwareness.ca

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Ok, so not all drivers of automatic transmission cars are dummies but it can be argued that those who choose to drive a manual transmission are not so much “smarter” but certainly more attentive while behind the wheel.

The advent of the automatic transmission opened the door to a greater number of drivers on the road. It allowed people who didn’t have the skill or wherewithal, to drive cars with manual transmissions. A car with manually tranny connects the driver to the vehicle and they become one. The driver is now intimately connected to the vehicle and all that is going on with it. Automatic transmissions, allow drivers to become further complacent about the task of driving because it so much easier. Less attention to the road is required. Automatic transmissions have been readily available in North America since the 1950′s and are without a doubt easier to drive. Select “Drive” and go. Interestingly enough though, 80% of all European drivers opt for a manual transmission and their driving skills are considered to be higher than drivers in North America.

Several years ago, I took on the task of teaching (my then wife) how to drive my manual transmission BMW. Like all those who first learn the skills involved, she was pretty jerky at first had her fair share of stalling at various stops. “What’s that smell?” she asked at one point, to which I replied “My clutch! Now stop it!” but overall, she picked it up pretty quickly.

One day while returning from a wedding from the previous night, I found that I was far too hung-over to drive. I pulled off the highway and told her to take the wheel. Although, she was still learning and uncertain of her skills, it was a wiser choice than me continuing to drive in my hung-over, sleep deprived condition. As we came off the highway and came to a stop at a busy intersection, her panic kicked in not wanting to stall at the light, frustrate other drivers with her inexperience or further damage my clutch. “What do I do?” to which I replied, “Deal with it! You’re the driver…figure it out”.

What was interesting is that she admitted that she had to “think ahead” more and look further down the road to observe more of her surroundings. She had to anticipate and mentally process more information. Hmmm…did she just become a more attentive driver? Yes. Her situational awareness while driving improved drastically.

No longer could she just hit the brakes and slow down without further thought. Doing so would mean she would be in too high a gear for her much slower speed leaving the engine chugging and at the point of stalling when she tried to accelerate again. She also found that she could no longer be complacent when rolling away from a stop while on an incline. She checked her mirrors far more often to check if a car was behind her, for fear of rolling back into them.

Over time, her skills improved and she became smoother and more aware of what was going on around her. Now – many years later – she drives an AUDI with a manual transmission and she’s a better driver because of skills that she had to master.

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