The Lonely Rider

Every once in a while, someone asks me to review or promote their product and it’s not often that I do. Although every once in a while, something comes across my desk that is worth more than it costs and in this case it’s the Vital ID Motorcycle kit and Medical ID bracelet.

Medical ID bracelets aren’t new, in fact they have been around for decades but they’ve usually been some bland piece of metal worn as a bracelet or necklace. They’ve never been aesthetically pleasing and often got snagged or caught on things, which meant they weren’t practical to wear and often people wouldn’t bother, thus defeating the point of even having one.

Recently I was contacted by someone affiliated from VitalID.ca asking me to help spread the word about their products and after looking at their wide range of products online, I wanted to learn more and see how practical this stuff really was. They sent me some of their Medical ID bracelets and a couple of their Motorcycle Rider ID kits and I must say they are amazing.

As a motorcyclist, I know full well that if I get involved in a crash, the odds of me being injured are much higher than if I was involved in a crash while in a vehicle. Let’s face it…no safety cage, airbags or crumple zones. Paramedic’s first priority is to assess and stabilize your injuries. Looking for your wallet is also a priority (which is why I always keep it in my jacket pocket and not in a tank bag) but this wastes precious time and doesn’t usually contain any information about you medically.

When a rider crashes, getting the helmet off is a two person job and once done, the helmet goes along with the patient in the ambulance so that it can be looked at by the trauma team in the ER (it often provides clues as to where head injuries may be and how bad). With the Rider ID kit attached to your helmet, they can easily pull the info card out of the reflective sleeve and not only find out basic information about you, but also learn if you have any medical conditions, other than the obvious injuries from your crash, that may assist them in how they treat you clinically. For example, if you are taking blood thinners, the risk of you dying from excessive blood loss is quite high, however if that information is on your Rider ID card, they would know to give you a Vitamin K shot (the ‘antidote’ for Warfarin), which would quickly coagulate your blood and improve your odds. It would also be good for them to know if you have any allergies to drugs.

The Rider ID kit comes with a reflective sleeve that sticks to your helmet with a tri-fold card that you put all your information on and folds up and is stored in the sleeve. Both the reflective sleeve and tri-fold insert are waterproof – just be sure to use a waterproof marker when filling it out. It also comes with a wallet card which can contain the same information along with other important details, like who to contact in the event of an emergency.

If you aren’t a motorcyclist, the Medical ID bracelet accomplishes the same goal and can be used by anybody. It’s a Velcro arm band with a sleeve that again contains a tri-fold information card with all your important medical information. It clearly states right on it what it is for and paramedics and trauma staff are trained to look for such items. Again the arm band and information card is water proof and you can also easily attach a wrist watch to it making it practical for everyday use.

I’ve shown both products to various people in the medical and first responder community and they all agree that these products could save your life and they wish that people who need them, wear them. Some further went on to say that even if you don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions, using products like this could save time should you need medical attention and make it easier to contact your family should you end up in hospital and unable to speak or communicate in someway.

Many trauma victims can spend days in critical care as “John/Jane Doe” because their wallet/purse could not be located at the scene. Think about the stress your family would experience, not knowing where you are for several days. Calling around to hospitals would be useless because they would be asking for you by name and since they don’t know your name, they would say “No…he/she’s not here”. Then what? They would have to call the police and file a ‘Missing Person’ report followed by days of waiting as they call to hospitals asking for unidentified patients fitting your description.

VitalID.ca provides an impressive selection of products and I would suggest you check them out. Their products are indeed worth far more than they cost.

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Many times I come across articles discussing the purchasing of a motorcycle helmet; what to look for, how to measure your head to ensure the right fit, and how various types of helmets perform in impact testing. Sure there are lots of types of helmets like skull caps, half shell, 3/4 shell, full-face, modular (or flip-lid), etc and all perform differently in a crash. Some riders take helmet safety quite seriously and others don’t care in the least and opt to not wear one at all if they can legally get away with it. Others only care about how cool it looks. Some riders care so little about helmet safety, that if they are forced to wear one, they will buy the cheapest skull cap they can and slap on a DOT sticker that they picked up at some motorcycle swap meet in an attempt to fool whatever cop who happens to pull them over.

For those riders who really care about their noggin and care about being a law abiding citizen, choosing and wearing an approved helmet is important. Most riders in North America know that DOT is the most common type of certification for motorcycle helmets. Now I can’t speak for all regions but as a rider in Ontario, Canada, there are more than one. More educated riders will also be familiar with SNELL as another approved type of helmet. But there are more! It’s a shame that more motorcycle dealerships and equipment stores don’t keep up on the latest rules and regulations because they are limiting the options they can provide to their customers.

I know of at least one BMW dealership in Ontario that stopped selling their own preferred brand of helmet because they found out that it wasn’t legally approved. Well…it is now. As safety standards around the world are improved and compared against the currently approved standards in North America, it’s been realized that other types of certifications are just as good, if not better than, other types of certifications…for example the DOT standards. In fact it’s been realized that DOT is actually the lowest in performance standards compared to SNELL or the European Union regulation known as ECE. As a result, more and more certification types are now approved for on-road use. ECE 22.05, which is considered one of the best, was just added to the list in the past year.

Who knew? It turns out…not many. Motorcycle dealers don’t know, equipment supply stores don’t know and many cops don’t know. This is unfortunate in so many ways. Not only are we as riders limited in our purchase options, but we may also get a ticket for wearing an unapproved helmet which is actually approved. Take that ticket to court folks.

So how many approved certifications are there? Well at the time of writing this, there are five for Ontario (check your local laws…carefully). They are the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), SNELL, British Standards Institute (BSI), DOT, and European Union (ECE 22.05). Take a look at the appropriate section of the Highway Traffic Act below. If you have doubts, I encourage you to look it up for yourself and print out a copy. Show it to your dealers, shops and if need be…the cop who pulls you over. Be warned though, don’t be a jerk to the cops. They don’t generally pull riders over because they think you’re wearing an unapproved helmet. They may just add that one to the list of infractions that they did pull you over for.

Highway Traffic Act

R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 610

SAFETY HELMETS

Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2012 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: O. Reg. 102/12.

1. A helmet worn by a person,

(a) riding on or operating a motorcycle; or

(b) operating a motor assisted bicycle,

on a highway shall,

(c) have a hard, smooth outer shell lined with protective padding material or fitted with other energy absorbing material and shall be strongly attached to a strap designed to be fastened under the chin of the wearer; and

(d) be undamaged from use or misuse. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 610, s. 1.

2. The helmet referred to in section 1 shall conform to the requirements of the,

(a) Canadian Standards Association Standard D230 Safety Helmets for Motorcycle Riders and shall bear the monogram of the Canadian Standards Association Testing Laboratories;

(b) Snell Memorial Foundation and shall have affixed thereto the certificate of the Snell Memorial Foundation;

(c) British Standards Institute and shall have affixed thereto the certificate of the British Standards Institute;

(d) United States of America Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 and shall bear the symbol DOT constituting the manufacturer’s certification of compliance with the standard; or

(e) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation No. 22, “Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Protective Helmets and of Their Visors for Drivers and Passengers of Motor Cycles and Mopeds”, and shall have affixed thereto the required international approval mark. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 610, s. 2; O. Reg. 102/12, s. 1.

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Learning Curves – Review

www.learningcurves.ca

Published in 2Ride Magazine

Each Spring, more and more people take up motorcycling and they do so for a wide range of reasons. As such, motorcycle training schools across the country quickly fill up with students who are new to riding or those who are returning after taking many years off. Whether you are new to riding or someone who is taking up riding again, the question that is often asked is “Why take a course? Isn’t it just like riding a bike?” The short answer is no…it’s not.

Riding a motorcycle comes with risk, just like driving a car does. However, making a mistake on a motorbike can have far greater consequences. The point to taking a safety course is to mitigate and reduce those risks. Instructors start you with the basics of where the controls are and how to use them and rapidly move you up to required skills like emergency braking, obstacle avoidance and proper vision techniques. Even for those who have ridden before and are returning to riding much has changed in the past decade and so have the bikes that are available today. For those who have many years experience riding dirt bikes, riding on public roads is a very different experience since trees don’t tend to simply jump out in front of you (only those who drive/ride drunk would disagree with that statement). In general, people take up riding for many reasons ranging from a childhood fantasy to a mid-life crisis, encouragement from their friends or family, to wanting to save on gas, or simply wanting to indulge in the pure joy and sensations that riding provides and that they’ve heard about. Many of the joys of riding are foreign to new riders until they actually get out on their own bike and discover the thrills, adventures and excitement on their own. I recently spent some time at “Learning Curves” a motorcycle safety school in Toronto and talked to some of the students and their instructors. The students shared the opinion that they wanted to learn the basics of motorcycle riding and some students went far as to say that they are taking the course to learn to “stay alive”. Although a relatively new school, Learning Curves bring to the table decades of combined motorcycling experience. The owners and head instructors have a long history in the riding community teaching others how to ride and most of their junior instructors come from other schools. What makes Learning Curves different is their personal touch and hands-on teaching style. Let’s face it, we all learn differently and while we may excel with some concepts, we may lack in other areas. These instructors teach differently and adapt to your needs as a student, even spending more time with individual riders to help them in areas where they are weak. The instructors fully understand what’s involved in riding on public roads and are there to pass down their knowledge much like native cultures pass down knowledge from one generation to the next by showing them first hand. We all start out the same as newbies, without a clue what we are doing and it’s the instructor’s passion for riding and willingness to “pay it forward” that makes taking a course enjoyable. Just observing the instructors running along side the students and taking extra time talking to those who required some extra tutelage, showed how much they cared about arming new riders with the basic knowledge and skills that they would need to head out on the open roads. It helps also that the instructors remember what it’s like to be new at riding and teach without the “I know more than you so you better listen” attitude found at some other schools. It also helps that they all have a great sense of humour and friendliness that makes students feel at ease from the moment you arrive. As with other Ministry approved riding schools, Learning Curves offers both M1 and M2 exit courses and administers the Ministry skills test at the end of the program. Most schools focus on teaching you what you need to pass the Ministry tests at the end of the course but Learning Curves takes it to another level with additional tips, techniques and advice to add another level of safety for their students to take to the road. With that in mind though, if a student doesn’t “get it” they won’t pass the test. Another thing that really makes Learning Curves stand apart from the rest is their “Street Proofing” program. Once a student passes the M1 course, they will take you out on the streets at a later date (using your own bike once you get it) and show you how to ride in the real world (which is vastly different from puttering around in a safe, controlled parking lot) offering up tips and advice along the way. This is an invaluable service to help new riders navigate the roads safely. Whatever your reasons are for taking up riding, please take the time to do it safely and take a safety course. It’s worth far more than it costs and should be considered a personal investment in you. Most riding schools offer not only a basic course for those who are new to riding but also advanced courses too. Some regions have graduated licensing and local schools, which are certified by their local governing body, offer weekend courses that focus on the skills required and actually administer the ministry tests that are required to graduate to the next level.

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Enough!
Courtesy of Sharon DeVellis of the Yummy Mummy Club
July 05, 2010

I’m so beyond pissed off right now I can’t stand it. While putting on make up this morning while watching Breakfast Television, I listened as Kevin Frankish reported about how a father died in front of his two kids, ages 7 and 11, last night.

Was it a long weekend freak accident? Did he have a heart attack?

No. He was killed from a head-on collision by a driver who was going the wrong way on a major highway. The car is virtually unrecognizable with the front passenger seat pretty much obliterated.

The dad, the one sitting in the now gone front passenger seat, was killed instantly. The mom who was driving was airlifted to a hospital and is in critical condition.

The two kids are unhurt.

But not really. They aren’t fucking unhurt. They lost their father. Their mother is in a hospital and will hopefully recuperate but will have who knows how many months or years to get back to where she was.

The family? That’ll never get back to where it was, will it? Because I can tell you from experience, this crash will be the turning point in their lives. From this point forward, life for them will be known as before the crash and after the crash.

“Alcohol is being investigated as a factor in the collision.”

And this is where I say What The Fuck? And yes, I’m using f-bomb. If you’re offended, then walk away from the computer. But I earned the right to use What the fuck when two years ago a drunk driver smashed head-on into our family on a Sunday afternoon as we driving to my in-laws house to celebrate Mother’s Day. I earned it when I had to calm my screaming, bleeding child sitting by the side of the road waiting for police and paramedics to arrive. I earned it when I had to hold both my kids beside me on the ambulance ride to the hospital and when I had to see the drunk driver being admitted AHEAD OF US and he was so drunk he couldn’t even tell the nurse his name.

I earned it when I chose to stay sitting with my son in my lap and didn’t get up to beat the shit out of him at that very moment.

I earned it when I had to give my child drunk driving magic every single night before bed in order for him to be able to sleep and when I went to court to read our impact statement in front of a full courtroom, only to have the man who changed our family forever not look me in the eye once, not even when I held up pictures of my sons so he could see who he hurt.

I earned it when I listened as the judge revoked his license for 15 months and gave him a fine to pay and he walked away with his wife to go home to his young child. The one who didn’t need therapy from being in a head-on collision.

So I say What The Fuck.

Because I earned it.

And now this family has earned it and they don’t deserve it.

How many people have to die or be injured in drunk driving collisions before we smarten the hell up and get stricter laws?

Editor’s Notes:
Sharon’s rant touches close to home for me as a dear friend of mine sits in hospital beside her sisters bed as she lays there clinically brain dead. The plug is being pulled tomorrow. At the same time her mum lays in another hospital bed clinging to life. It’s still unsure what the outcome will be for her. It was a drunk driver who caused this tragic crash a few weeks ago.

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Greetings everyone!

It is with great pleasure to announce that my RoadAwareness Campaign now operating as RoadAwareness.org. Road safety issues don’t stop at any border and neither do we!

The Facebook Group name has changed to reflect the new orientation and to make it easier to find us in searches. Please be sure to invite all your friends to check out our website and join our Facebook group as road safety affects us all. Safer roads begin with safer drivers!

We are now coming up on one year of successfully bringing awareness on road safety related issues and we look forward to another exciting year in 2010. In the past year, RoadAwareness has been involved with three notable awareness rallies in Southern Ontario, with attendance ranging from 60 to 200 participants. Each time, we had favourable coverage by the media, public attendance and support of local law enforcement at those events. Newspapers, TV and various online websites & forums, have all covered events associated with us and we hope that they will continue to do so as we spread the message on improving situational awareness when operating a motor vehicle as well as the importance of advanced driver & rider training.

The RoadAwareness Campaign is proud to have been covered by the media several times, not only locally where it began in Southern Ontario but the word is now spreading across North America and the rest of the world. Our website is now being viewed by visitors from around the globe. Here is some of the media coverage we’ve gotten so far:
http://www.roadawareness.org/about-us/media-coverage/

In addition to awareness rallies, RoadAwareness also performed a Distracted Driving Experiment to highlight the dangers of using your cell phone while driving and was successful in showing that hands-free kits are really no safer than using a hand-held phone while talking. In addition, the results of texting while driving were jaw-dropping. All of the participants were far more likely to loose control of their vehicles and hit obstacles…and most did.

RoadAwareness is joining forces with some great partners in 2010. We are also pleased to announce our involvement in Belt Drive Betty’s Awareness Conga to the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby, Nova Scotia. For more information on this rally, please check out and join this group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291129346434
We hope to assist with arranging various awareness rallies along their route across the country. Stay tuned and join us along the way.

Another notable mention is the establishment of some great working relationships with Young Drivers of Canada and the Traffic Services Division of Toronto Police Services. We continue to solidify these alliances and look forward to working with them further in 2010. Developing new relationships, on an ongoing basis, is a primary focus for us.

Promising discussions with Queensway AUDI are ongoing now that they’ve launched a Teen Driver Development Program, focusing on arming our young drivers with the skills they need to survive our roadways. Moving onward, we are constantly looking for important changes in the industry on a global level. We are also in need of like-minded partners to assist us as we continue to send two simple messages…the importance of advanced driver & rider training and that “There is no excuse for paying anything less than 100 percent attention to the task of driving and to our surroundings.” -Shaun de Jager, Founder

Your continued support of the RoadAwareness Campaign is valuable to us. Drive safe.

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In the real world…these are your pylons. They aren’t made of plastic.

On January 24th, 2010 RoadAwareness.org hosted a Distracted Driving Experiment at Formula Kartways in Brampton, ON. The objective was simple enough…take drivers with various levels of experience and get them to drive while distracted. Each driver was subjected to various exercises including a slalom course, swerve & avoid as well as reaction time tests. At first participants drove without any distractions but later had to perform the same tests while talking on a cell phone (including using hands-free kits) and while texting.

Click here to read more…

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With the hands-free ban coming into full affect February 1st, RoadAwareness.ca will be performing a practical experiment of how distracted driving affects situational awareness and reflexes. This is an interactive opportunity for media to get on the track and test how much distracted driving really changes their driving ability.

The objective is to highlight that any handheld or cell phone usage (even with the use of a hands-free kit) significantly reduces a driver’s situational awareness and reflexes and greatly increases the chance of being in a collision.

The experiment will be held on January 24th, 2010 in a controlled environment at Formula Kartways located at 79 Bramsteele road in Brampton. While seated behind the wheel of purpose built gokarts, drivers will go through several practical driving tests to gauge their skill, reflexes and awareness, with and without distractions. The experiment will be held from 10am to 1pm and it will take approximately 30 minutes for each person to complete.

Click here for details

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