42 MOTORCYCLE MOJO MAY 2019
We share the road.
Let’s share the responsibility.
SAFETY
AWARENESS
MONTH
M
O
T
O
R
C
Y C
L
I
N
G
.
C
A
M
AY
Pursuing a better riding experience for all.
motorcycling.ca #MotorcycleSafetyPledge
Take the Motorcycle Safety Pledge
at motorcycling.ca
Going Digital
Get a safety app or locator beacon.
We are lucky to live in a technological
world these days. There are some great
apps available for your smartphone
that offer crash and fall detection in
addition to tracking your ride, such as
EatSleepRIDE. Instead of you poten-
tially waiting injured on the side of the
road or in a ditch, an alert instantly goes
out to emergency services with your
location once the app senses a crash, as
determined by complex algorithms.
If you’re travelling to more remote
areas, you might want to look into
purchasing a satellite beacon like a
6327VDWHOOLWH*36PHVVHQJHURUD
Garmin inReach unit. A location beacon
can be more useful, especially if you
ÀQG\RXUVHOIRQWKHGXVW\WUDLOPRUH
often than not and out of cell reception.
You can set up key contacts who will
receive your location in set intervals.
Additionally, you can let them know if
you’ve had a breakdown, stopped early,
QHHGKHOSRUZLOOMXVWEHODWH+RZHYHU
they will not sense if you’ve had a crash
- you’ll still need to physically press a
button to notify emergency services.
First-Aid Kit
Anticipate the worst but hope for the
best. Start off with buying a generic
ÀUVWDLGNLWDVWKLVZLOOVXSSO\ZLWK
you most of the equipment you’ll need.
Then adapt the kit to your needs and
activities. Some extras that I carry are
things an antibiotic ointment, a pain
reliever, an antihistamine and any
prescribed medications.
Above all else, the most important
thing we can do as riders is focus on
the road and our surroundings. I often
think about that moment I rode away
from the deer carcass stretched out
on the side of the road and about the
split-second choices I made that placed
me in that fateful situation. In the end, I
made my choice and came out all right
- I was lucky. The most important thing
is to learn from others and ourselves in
moments like that. We ride to live and
live to ride, but becoming a statistic is
not our end goal.
TRAINING SAFETY
P
H
O
T
O
C
R
E
D
I
T
:
E
R
I
C
R
U
S
S
E
L
L