June Safety Report

It’s starting to get warm in beautiful Arizona. You know what that means. Too Broke For Sturgis is just around the corner. There will be lots of fun and meeting up with old friends that you see once a year. I know I can’t wait. All the ABATE Chapters come together and volunteer their time to produce this event. One of your volunteer opportunities is to be at the hub of activity while spending some time in the First Aid area, near Registration. If you have a current CPR/ First Aid card from the American Heart Association or the Red Cross you can volunteer for time in the First Aid area. If you are licensed health care professional you can spend time in the First Aid area. Our responsibility at Too Broke is to provide first aid; it is part of the contract with Mormon Lake Lodge. If someone experiences a life-threatening emergency, we call 911. The First Aid area will be open from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM Friday and Saturday. If several people volunteer to be there for about 2 hours at a time, no one will be over-burdened. Please, contact me ASAP so we can get the schedule started. You can email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call me 602-616-9855. Thank you for your dedication to ABATE and your fellow riders’ safety.

May Report

The Motorcycle Awareness Program (MAP) is alive and well. There are about 10 instructors throughout the state presenting the MAP to high school students taking driver education classes. The MAP is universally well received at all locations. Our instructors are awesome! We face a challenge this year because many school districts are cutting driver education classes citing budget problems as a reason. So, we are in the process of looking at other avenues to get the motorcycle safety word out. We’ll let you know how we are doing on that later in the year.

May is Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month. We have requested the Proclamation from the Governor as we do every year. It has not been received yet, so will not be published in the Masterlink until later. BUT, that does not mean that we cannot carry on our business of improving safety and awareness of motorcycling, especially in May. Each ABATE Chapter is encouraged to put together an event their community that promotes motorcycle safety and awareness in their community.

Motorcycle Awareness Starts at Home

Isn’t that a funny statement?

Motorcycle awareness SHOULD start at home. It doesn’t, that is for sure. It is also obvious that most families actually think that any form of education doesn’t even begin until school age. There in lies the problem. Whenever my kids friends around, they are just amazed by our bikes and ask loads of questions and I personally think that is awesome, after all they may be future riders themselves. ABATE is EDUCATION that is why we focus so hard on motorcyclist rights and regulation. Two great programs that are available are; ABATE’s Motorcycle Awareness Program (MAP) is awesome and aimed toward educating young drivers who are ready to hit the streets. Volunteer instructors take this program right to driver’s education classes. To see if your child’s school has the program, you can call the district or any MAP Instructors, see our MAP ad.

March Safety Report

We’ve all seen it. Heck, we probably all have done it at one time or another.

DISTRACTED DRIVING!

We recognize that distracted driving is a problem. But, what does it really mean and how does it impact motorcyclists? According to information from the Centers for Disease Control, more than 15 people are killed and more than 1,200 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver every day.

Distracted Driving is when someone operates a motor vehicle while having their attention diverted in some way by another task. Years ago, the most common distractions were eating, changing the radio station and passengers. Today, we can add such things as GPS and cell phones. Texting on a phone is by far the most lethal action when it comes to distracted driving. When you are behind the wheel there is no such thing as a small distraction.

Out With Old, In With the New… Well, Kind Of

With the change in years also came the change of ABATE officers. It was a cold Arizona morning when only the brave wandered out, those devoted to making a difference in our motorcycle community. New officers mean new ideas. Many officers stayed in position for another year pushing ahead for our personal rights. Congratulations 2013 Officers! It is going to be a great year!

First on the agenda. “The Freedom Mark your calendars for February 20th 2013.Tell your boss you will be late. This is an important date!! One of the meeting spots will be at the Kmart at I- 17 and Northern, check with your chapter for a meeting location near you. Kickstands up at 11:00 am sharp. The MORE the merrier!

Meet your legislator; we need to make a big impression. Don’t know who your legislator is? Check out the ABATE website for more information. We need to be seen, motorcycles are everywhere, and wouldn’t you agree that our rights and freedoms are worth fighting for? Motorcycle riders are a family, we may not agree on everything, but we can agree on our safety. It takes a little noise to let those at the capital know we are there! And I know we can make some noise. Loud pipes save lives.