{"id":57089,"date":"2021-03-10T08:57:03","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T13:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=57089"},"modified":"2021-03-10T08:57:03","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T13:57:03","slug":"looking-after-our-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2021\/03\/looking-after-our-own\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking After Our Own"},"content":{"rendered":"

With apologies to Hamlet<\/em>, I think age is what makes cowards of us all. We\u2019ve all experienced enough random derailments to realize that diligence is not foolproof, that armour, no matter how assiduous, never offers enough protection and, most important \u2013 at least this is what\u2019s getting me now that I\u2019m 63 \u2013 injuries that youth shook off now take two or three months to mend.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m much more safety-conscious these days. As I detailed in our previous issue, I don\u2019t leave home without an airbag jacket and I literally cringe when I see some young rebel out riding in nothing more than a T-shirt and shorts. There, by the grace of God (used to) go I and damned if I don\u2019t appreciate how lucky I\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all by way of explanation of how incredibly impressed I am by anyone furthering the safety of bikers, even if it sometimes feels like safety advancements seem to take longer to come our way. To wit: even the most basic of Toyota Corollas has a full advanced driver assistance system, but we bikers are treating the recent announcement of a radar-controlled cruise-control system as the Second Coming. Blind spot monitoring? It\u2019s on practically every car costing more than 20 grand. Motorcycles? The industry is not even talking about it.<\/p>\n

Enter Ride Vision, which, if promises be kept, offers a complete package of rider assistance systems that will virtually match anything the major manufacturers may have in the pipeline. Officially dubbed Collision Aversion Technology (CAT), two wide-angle high-definition cameras feed an ECU that monitors \u2013 Ride Vision states \u201cpredicts\u201d \u2013 the trajectory of cars, trucks and buses around you and then, should one of those trajectories conflict with your own, warn you via blinking lights. According to CAT\u2019s designers, the technology\u2019s continual threat analysis will alert you to dangerous overtakes, someone slamming on the brakes ahead of you and remind you to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you. (Ride Vision is developing the same collision-aversion features for the rear as well.) And because the two cameras lend the ECU a 360-degree view around your bike, Ride Vision\u2019s ECU will see dangers you cannot, no matter how sharp your vision or alert your senses. Better yet, CAT is an aftermarket system that seemingly can be retrofitted to any motorcycle.<\/p>\n

That said, there are limitations. The visual danger cues \u2013 thin LED lights mounted atop your bike\u2019s mirrors \u2013 could well pass unnoticed. Indeed, until we all get those \u201csmart\u201d helmets with heads-up displays we\u2019ve been promised for \u2013 oh, what is it now? \u2013 five years, Ride Vision\u2019s audiovisual warnings may not be enough. And while I laud the engineers behind such incredible technology, I find it impossible to believe that any sentient motorcyclist \u2013 unlike the dozy dolts behind the wheels of cars \u2013 needs reminding that there\u2019s a car in front of them. Nonetheless, I\u2019m looking forward to putting the Ride Vision system through its paces. Anything that helps keep me rubber side down is definitely worth a boo.<\/p>\n

At the extreme other end of the tech tableau \u2013 i.e., it\u2019s totally analog \u2013 is a new (to North America) organization called Biker Down. This organization, which has been operating for some 10 years in England \u2013 British bikers seem a little more appreciated than we here in the Great White Frozen North \u2013 organizes biker-specific first aid courses conducted by first responders that detail the steps that you can take to help a fellow motorcyclist in need. Besides the standard accident scene management and emergency call services, there will be instruction in providing the initial first aid for the types of injuries commonly afflicting fallen motorcyclists, right up to how \u2013 and, more important, when! \u2013 to remove a helmet.<\/p>\n

Biker Down was the inspiration of Jim Sanderson, a British firefighter who also happens to be an avid motorcyclist. As he tells it, he was riding with 15 or 20 mates one afternoon when he \u201cunfortunately witnessed a pretty serious motorcycle accident.\u201d Naturally, he put his first responder skills to work. What struck him afterward, he says, is that without the benefit of all his first aid gear, the techniques he used \u201cweren\u2019t anything particularly special\u201d and, more important, \u201cthese were skills I could easily pass on to other motorcyclists.\u201d The Biker Down curriculum, now a three-hour instruction course, is taught throughout England by as many as 46 Biker Down teams.<\/p>\n

Steve Reed of Medical Data Carrier (the little medical information packet that you attach to your helmet) is now bringing Biker Down to Canada. Although the program will operate a little differently here \u2013 it looks as if the courses will be held at local dealerships instead of, say, at a fire station \u2013 the curriculum and goals remain essentially unchanged: i.e., teaching motorcyclists to help downed fellow bikers during the first crucial minutes by offering basic secours.<\/p>\n

Biker Down North America is just getting started, and Canadian courses will probably not start till the autumn. But if you\u2019d like more information, visit bikerdown.ca<\/a> or contact Steve at stevereed@bikerdown.ca<\/a> or (613) 709-2941.<\/p>\n

I urge you to please \u2014 PLEASE! \u2014 sign up for the Biker Down course. The life you save may be mine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With apologies to Hamlet, I think age is what makes cowards of us all. We\u2019ve all experienced enough random derailments to realize that diligence is not foolproof, that armour, no matter how assiduous, never offers enough protection and, most important \u2013 at least this is what\u2019s getting me now that I\u2019m 63 \u2013 injuries that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2039,1876],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRide Vision Motorcycle Safety Products | Motorcycle Mojo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is important to provide motorcycle safety, and Ride Vision can help with their motorcycle safety products. 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