When I took the Motorcycle Safety Training class, we were told over and over again: when approaching a curve—slow down and look.  But what do you do when there is no warning of a curve and you can't see one coming? 

Jynean and I were riding in Central Alabama on an unfamiliar road that parallels with U.S. Highway 82.  At one time the road we were on was the main road between Columbus, MS and Tuscaloosa.  When the 4-lane highway was built, the engineers straightened out the many curves and left open the remaining sections of the old highway, now named Pickens County Road 30.  

Pickens County is one of the poorest counties in that almost all of the secondary roads are unpaved and the paved ones are not maintained.  On one rare mowing of the roadside, the mower cut down the sign that warned drivers of an impending curve.  A sign with a bold forward-pointing arrow and totally faded red symbol appears just before the road drops and curves to the left and a busy 4-lane highway about 50 yards away awaits the unwary. 

I was leading and Jynean was far to my rear when we went for a ride on this seemingly serene, beautiful road.  Suddenly, I was on my brakes and downshifting and before I had a conscious thought, I could hear Jynean’s tires squealing, then a loud crash.  In shock I pulled my bike (we were both riding Yamaha 650s) to the side of the road, hit the kill switch, turned the key and got off.  I turned around and saw her lying on her right side in a fetal position, head first against an embankment; I ran to her and heard her moaning and could get no response. I needed to call 911 immediately, but I'd left my cell phone at home.  I picked up hers and found it crushed and unusable.  

I turned and ran to the four-lane highway and stood holding the phone open and pointing up the hill.  The scene could be observed if a passenger or driver turned his/her head, but no one stopped for the longest time.  Finally several cars pulled up and some people came running; I asked someone to call 911.  Another woman (Angela) told me she was a nurse and took over until the EMTs arrived, and another woman handed me an unfamiliar phone to use to call family but I had to ask her to make the call for me.  After the EMTs came, Angela (Angel) told me she had just attended her mother's funeral and now had to leave. 

I could go on and on with this saga, but the summary of her injuries is four broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a broken shoulder blade, lacerated liver, damaged kidney and adrenal gland, concussion, and a partially deflated lung.  She has a sprained wrist and road rash where her leather jacket sleeve was pushed up; those were the only visible signs of the crash.  She was unconscious for hours and couldn't answer simple questions for two days.  She still has no memory of the accident.  I'm happy for her because I certainly do.

I'll leave you to your own conclusions of what would have happened if she hadn't worn a 3/4 helmet with face shield, a leather jacket, jeans, and high boots.  After a week spent in ICU and Critical Care, she was sent home where the real job began.  Having to be fed, wiped, waited on hand and foot is not for the faint-hearted.  At least not for those who have & the drive to be in constant motion, like Jynean.

Jackson

   I was sweating as I struggled into my boots, jacket, helmet, gloves, jeans.  And if the truth be told, swearing a little bit, too.   I told Jynnie, "I remember how much fun it used to be to ride before you had to dress for war before jumping on your bike."  Memories of the Sisters we'd met at the 2007 Rally passed through my head:  lovely long hair caught back by bandannas, fringed sleeveless vests flying in the wind, young ecstatic faces.   Well, I'm not young (65 in June), I don't have long hair, and I don't have a fringed vest.  But I do have good sense most of the time.

   I saddled up and prayed there would be no red stop lights on hills when I reached the small city (Columbus, MS) just across the Mississippi state line.   Just the thought of sitting on an steep incline causes me to break out in hot sweat and my stomach to contract.  This does not prevent  me going into hilly cities but I do have vivid visions of slowly rolling backward on my bike, trying to keep it upright, running, and God help me, not falling down.

   Ahhh, I made it and said an exuberant prayer of thanks, actually two of them, when I hit the flat, even streets near my appointment.  The kids were getting out of school so I obediently wobbled along at 15 MPH while watching carefully for some youngster to dash in front of me.  There were long lines of cars on both sides of the two-way, two lane street, parents waiting to pick up young'uns.  There was another line of cars on a side street, waiting at the stop sign for a break in the traffic.  I watched a young woman in a new Taurus approach the sign, ahead and on the right of me.  She stopped, looked conscientiously to her right, and still looking right, pulled in front of me.  Let me see now, should I just lay the bike down (that might hurt), swerve to the left (that'll hurt for sure as she will run over me), swerve to the right (I'll really get hurt as I'll be sandwiched).  So I did the correct thing and drove right into her.  (I DID do the correct thing, didn't I???).

   I sprang up from the hot asphalt , acting as though I did this trick on a routine basis, as I had quite an audience.   I hit the "kill" switch on my bike, remembering the only thing that came to mind from my Motorcycle Safety Course.   As I was performing for a crowd, I thought I'd really wow them by taking off my helmet and letting them see my gray hair and wrinkles.   As I stood around waiting for the cops to make their report, I sang tunelessly (of course) "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" to get sympathy and was rather amazed when one of the officers sang after me, "...by a Taurus!."

   I survived my hit with only bruises and a scraped up Yamaha Silverado 650 with 1, 143 miles on it.  And I did so because I had on all the apparatus that I had earlier fussed about.  My helmet was scratched, proving I would have hit my head if I had been wearing my wolf bandanna instead; my gloves were scuffed, having saved my hands, and I don't know about the injuries to my jacket (which has protective pads in all the right places) because I can't bring myself to look at it yet.

   The excellent article, "Survival Mode - The Human Element," by HogWoman says a lot about being especially careful in intersections:  I want to encourage my Sisters to do something that wasn't given much shrift in the article - please, please, please think about safety over beauty and the air through your hair.

Last year the Motorcycle Safety Foundation sponsored an International Motorcycle Safety Conference titled The Human Element. It focused on human factors in motorcycle safety; nothing affects safety more than human thinking and actions.

The three-day event covered a variety of motorcycle safety issues: crash causation, accident studies, braking, protective gear, innovations, alcohol use, etc.  More than 300 experts from around the world gave presentations and took part in panels, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-NHTSA-provided some valuable background data.

One of the more intriguing pieces of data involves motorcycle crashes at intersections: 77% of biker accidents occur at intersections-that's three out of every four.  There was another disturbing fact related to this:"Perception failure" of the drivers from the other vehicles causes 70% of motorcycle accidents.  Many drivers just don't seem to see motorcycles.

Intersections are clearly the most dangerous zone we ride in. So, what can we do about it?

One important thing to remember is that it's not necessary to ride into intersections at high speed.  Let's take, for example, a 35 mph speeed zone.  That posted speed is not a mandatory speed, it is the maximum legal speed.  If you see vehicles in or near an intersection that you are approaching, why not slow down?

Collisions come at a rider from the front-roughly from an area between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock.  With that in mind, pay particular attention to vehicles approaching in the opposite lane that may turn left in front of you, and any others that may proceed into the intersection.

"Covering" your brakes can help reduce reaction time. Spreading your right hand over the brake lever and placing your foot over the pedal in preparation to react cuts reaction time in half.  The sooner you begin to apply maximum braking, the quicker you'll stop.

These three things, while not the only cautions, can go a long way in helping to minimize injury or save your life: slow down, scan the intersection, cover your brakes.

If you are in a situation making it necessary to brake fast, then you should use both brakes-especially the front since it supplies most of the bike's stopping power.  It's a good idea to simply brake straight ahead and don't try to swerve, which could result in high-siding and other possbily fatal results.

Helping other drivers on the road to better notice motorcyles and motorcyclists could help lessen the number of accidents.  Wearing brighter colors can make a difference.  Data presented at the conference indicates that bright colors increase conspicuity by 12%, which though only by a small amount, can lower your risk nonetheless.

The Human Element is all about thinking and performance-not the other guy's, yours!

Article borrowed from American Rider, April 2007