The Lonely Rider

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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