Mike Poage: 810 423 8711 E mail: kritterreg20@yahoo.com MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS PROGRAM Awareness Support Form here MEMBERS OF ABATE OF MICHIGAN, INC. VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME BY TEACHING STUDENTS IN DRIVER EDUCATION CLASSES ON HOW TO BE AWARE OF MOTORCYCLISTS ON THE ROAD. 2012! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Looking forward to it. 2011 wasn’t too bad as I look back on it. We didn’t get our freedom. Yet. But we are still in the fight and it still looks good. Your Awareness Program is going as strong as ever. I'm writing this as I pack and prepare for Seminar and from the reports I've received so far we have taught almost as many students in 2011 as we did in 2010. I'm expecting a couple of LAST MINUTE reports from a couple of regions that will push us over. Either way I have to give out a Damned fine job to all of our participating Regions. There is room for improvement though. I keep a notebook with 22 pages for reports from Regions on Awareness activities. Everything from teaching to radio. Billboards and events. Parties and Rides. ALL intended to raise Awareness or the money to pay for it. 22 pages for 22 Regions. 9 of those pages are empty. No report! No request for supplies! Were there no Awareness activities at all in those Regions? NO signs put up. Nothing! RCs, what's up? Even if you don't have an Awareness team or Director did your Region put up any signs. If so let me know. Once the word gets out, maybe it can get the ball rolling. Maybe someone will step up and say, I want to take over this Regions Awareness Program. If they have something to start with it could happen. My New Year's resolution is to fill in some of those empty pages. I need your help to do this. I can't do it for you, but I can help you get it done. Veterans will remember this acronym, CYOA. (cover your own ass) Awareness Programs help to accomplish this mission. Till next month, Find yourself an ice-free section of road and Ride Safe, Ride Often November. Turkey dinner, Football, Cold, Wet, Slippery. End of the Riding Season? Well, for most anyway. Not the end of Awareness though. Our job does not end when we put away our bikes. Kids are back in school. They are taking Driver's Ed. The beat goes on. By the time you read this it will be just a little over a month until Seminar. Hopefully all Awareness Directors will be wrapping up their yearly reports to send to me. Hopefully they will also be collecting Ideas from any of their team members who will not be able to make it to Seminar. Fresh ideas that are economicaly possible and also from a manpower perspective. Ideas that can work. We need them. I want, no I need to thank everybody who became an Awareness Supporter this year. I will be sending in my check and application myself tomorrow. Also I need to thank all of you who put that little extra in when renewing your membership. It's just like votes at election time. One vote or that little extra might not seem like much but when added together it is what makes our jobs possible. ABATE of Michigan's Board and the Membership will make the money available, one way or the other. I do believe that. With renewal options, Supporter and Region Donations we will somehow keep this program going. What need does this leave open and in some cases lacking. Active participation. From Members and in some cases, Regions. Some old, fat, English guy ( Winston Churchill I THINK ) once said, Never has so much been done by so few. Sounds like ABATE's theme song. If motorcycle riding is your passion then ABATE and it's programs should be also. Whether it is about Rights or Safety it IS about US. Till next month, Ride Safe, Ride All The Time (at least when the roads are clear)   GUILTY ! Yes I am. I did what I preach against. NOT watching where I was going. NOT paying attention to what I was doing. ENDANGERING myself AND the other 4 people I was riding in a group with. While leading a group of 3 other bikes riding in a tight group off of the expressway onto the off ramp turned around sideways to wave goodbye to someone still on I-75 I ran off the ramp, clipped one of those metal posts with a reflector on top. I got off lucky with a bent crash bar (gotta love those things) and a broken Knuckle on my left Hi, How Ya doin’ finger on my clutch hand. You know which finger that is, right? Yes, I said Lucky! I could have killed myself AND taken out every bike I was riding with right in front of the Wife and Daughter of one of the people I was riding with. They were riding in a truck right behind us, FILMING the whole thing. If I had hit that post a little more to the center and I would have spun out in front of people I consider family. Luckily it hit the crash bar instead of the tire or the windshield and it actually knocked me back onto the road in the direction I was supposed to be going in the first place. On the film it looks like I made a great save. Don't believe everything you see. Looks can be deceiving, PURE DUMB LUCK ! A new lease on life! and a strengthened resolve to practice what I preach and to preach a hell of a lot more. Yes, I still believe that cagers are still our greatest threat, cagers doing exactly what I just did. We've all done it to varying degrees though. Got a little cocky, Hot dogging, whatever you wanna call it. Yes, I'm gonna keep preaching to our kids AND to the CHOIR. Be SAFE out there. Please.   * A reminder to all Awareness Directors. PLEASE have your end of the year reports into me by Mid December so that I can have a full report ready when I get to seminar instead of trying to finish it AT seminar. Student counts, Alternative Awareness projects and Instructor Seniority info so that I can have their certificates printed up. Till next month, dress warmer, Ride Safe, Ride All the time Kritter   Summer's over? How can that be? It must be true. I look out my window during the day and there are no kids.No bicycles, minibikes go-karts or scooters running up and down my road ( Home of every noisy 2,3 or 4 wheeled conveyance of noisy children known to man). Ah, Peace and serenity! At least until those big yellow boxes on wheels come in and spit out those noisy little, adorable little people. Why do I bring this up? I mean besides the joy I receive from my peaceful days. Because the bigger little people are back in school too. The ones that are driving the bigger 4 wheeled methods of transportation. The ones that are LEARNING to drive those Damn things. They are driving themselves to school, on errands, to after school activities. On dates where their minds are definately not on the road or safe driving. Remember? It has'nt been that long has it? Here is an opportunity for EVERYONE to get involved with Awareness. Talk to your kids. Your grandkids, nephews, nieces. Talk to them about Distracted driving. The effect of cellphone use while driving. Friends in the car distracting them.Cellphone use alone causes 6% of all accidents in this country today while the overall effect of distracted driving causes 25%. 1/4 of all the accidents that happen today are caused by people that just are'nt watching what they are doing. 41% of the accidents between motorcycles and cars are the fault of those same kids. OUR kids! In addition to trying to save our own lives, let's try to stop our kids from being another one of those statistics. As usual I have to stress the importance of remembering to donate that little extra to Awareness when you renew your memberships. To become an Awareness Supporter. To try to get local businesses to become supporters. This can't be a onetime donation.It needs to be an ongoing thing. Just like our Awareness Program. Till next month, Ride Safe, Ride Often. Kritter August already? Where has this summer gone? Before I get into the business side of this I need to give thanks and a heartfelt well done to Vicky Siebring in Region 4 for the Damn fine job she has done in that region. At least temporarily we will be losing her to another state while her husband attends MMI in Phoenix, Arizona. While we wish her and her Husband their best in this endeavor we also wish them a speedy return. In her absence Donna Curiak will be stepping up to fill her shoes - Thanx for giving a shit Donna. I need to remind ALL Awareness Directors to please have their end of the year reports in by the middle of December if possible. This gives me enough time to have everything organized for a report to the State Board and the membership at seminar. The report should include class totals, Media and billboard campaigns and anything else done to promote Motorcycle Awareness. Also I need to know which Instructors or other team members are eligible for seniority certificates - 1 yr, 5 yr, 10, 15 or 20. The only source I have for this info is the Regional Directors as I don't have any kind of roster or list of all Awareness members statewide. I also need to know if anyone needs time at the Awareness Comm. mtg. during seminar to present any ideas or problems so that we can have a little more orderly and productive mtg. this year. We need new ideas but they need to be realistic both by way of budget and manpower requirements, which brings me to the budget. I cannot emphasize this enough. This all requires money. Hey, what doesn’t right? In the Michigan Rider is an application to become an Awareness Supporter. Rip it out of there and carry it with you. Make copies of it and pass them out to your local bike shops, bars and other businesses that support us. Don't pressure them but it doesn’t hurt to ask. The form is also available on line: http://www.abateofmichigan.org/LinksandForms.htm If you need supplies call or E-mail me. Till next time, Ride Safe, Ride All the time Kritter Lately here in Genesee Co. we've had a number of bike accidents in a short period of time. We had gone a while without but it seems like fate decided to play catch up. Some were single vehicle accidents and some were Bike/Car combos. One that sticks in my mind is one that involved a Woman on a sport bike who left a bike night at a local watering hole. She pulled out of the bar, swung around her significant other and his friend, accelerated to over 100 mph on Dort Hwy. and rear ended a pickup that had changed lanes trying to get out of her way. A senseless loss of life! I said that this one stuck in my mind for a reason. It's the kind of accident that sticks in other people’s minds, News media, Politicians and Insurance Companies. Those crazy Bikers. Organ Donors. Accidents and Fatalities percentages per number of registrations of bikers are down currently BUT the news and the politicians and the insurance companies will only remember the most recent stupid accident that happened. Why do I bring this up, do you ask? Recently our helmet legislation got hit with a couple of amendments, one of which is a 4 yr. Sunset clause which means if we finally win and get to ride free it will be reconsidered 4 yrs. later. If, at that time the politicians think our freedom was a mistake the mandatory helmet law will come back. The news media and the insurance companies will say I told you so and we will be back to square one and worse, a failed experiment not to be tried again. What's worse? Never knowing Freedom or having it and then losing it. Some in ABATE can remember being free before some of us were born. IF our legislation passes and we finally get our freedom, Awareness and Rider Education are going to be even more important. Freedom is just as hard to hold onto as it is to achieve. We must not only keep up our level of Education (both riders and car drivers), but also increase it. IF your region does not have an Awareness Program, WHY NOT? No Instructors? Train them. No Drivers Ed. in your area? Do a media campaign, billboards. It starts at the top. RCs are essential to this. You set the agenda and are the motivation for your region. Freedom and Responsibility are one and the same! IF we get our Freedom, WE have to BE responsible for it. I hate it when some smartass says I told you so, to me. Let's not give the smartasses a chance. Especially the SMARTERasses! Till next time Ride Safe, Ride all the time. Kritter Twice during the month of May I got my hopes up. Despite the fact that the State of Michigan wasted Federal money designated for use in Motorcycle Awareness to tell US the motorcycle riders to Ride Safe so we can Ride again I got my hopes up. Telling US to wear proper protective clothing, maintain our bikes in a safe operating condition and to ride in a legal and safe manner are great messages for sure. They have nothing to do with Motorcycle Awareness though. They come under the responsibility of Rider Education. Still, when told that Sec. of State Ruth Johnson was going to have a ceremony on the Capitol steps to kick off Motorcycle Awareness month I got my hopes up. Once there I saw Ruth Johnson ride in on her borrowed bike for her photo op. She then proceeded to give awards for Rider Ed. to our President Vince for his work and to A couple of deserving soldiers for their Rider Ed. Military programs. Well deserved yes but still not AWARENESS. Then came the reading of House Resolution 47 declaring may as Motorcycle Safety Awareness month. Most of the resolution pertains to rider safety telling US once again to wear our clothes, maintain our bikes and ride safe. Then almost as an afterthought it says that car and truck drivers should be Aware that we are out on the roads again. Again on May 27 Ruth once again borrowed a bike for another photo op in Lapeer for another so called Awareness ceremony. SAME story, different day. As far as State government is concerned Motorcycle Awareness IS an afterthought. AFTER anything else. ABATE of Michigan is the ONLY organization Public or Private in this state doing anything to promote Awareness. This needs to change. The Ride Safe so you can ride again program was not the fault of the Sec. of States office. That BLUNDER was dreamed up by another inept State misorganization. From the Governor on down to the Dept. of Transportation, Sec. of State and the Michigan State police (author of Ride Safe to Ride Again) we need to send polite yet firm messages that Motorcycle Awareness programs should be directed at the car drivers that are too busy doing other things to drive the car they are behind the wheel of. Were not asking for the world here. Only that they do what they are already supposed to be doing. Practice safe driving habits. Obey the law. Adhere to the Golden Rule. Treat us the way they would want to be treated. E-Mails, Phone calls and Letters to these Organizations will help. Till next month, RIDE SAFE SO YOU CAN RIDE AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN! Ride every chance you get. In this state those chances are too few and not to be wasted, Kritter Mike Poage: 810 423 8711 E mail: kritterreg20@yahoo.com By the time ya'll read this it will be almost May, Motorcycle Awareness month in Michigan and many other states. Unfortunately most of the people that know that are on 2 wheels. It's our responsibility to spread the word to the ones that need to hear it. Car drivers, New drivers and old, Kids on their cell phones while driving, Moms in their minivans trying to keep the peace among the Cub Scout or Girl Scout Pack riding in the back seats. The salesman trying to check invoices, place an order on the phone, and perhaps look for that next address and while he's at it, drive the car at the same time. WHY is it our responsibility? Because we are the ones who bear the burden of their mistakes. Because NO ONE ELSE is spreading that word. Getting the message out there costs money. DUH! What doesn’t, right? Last month I told you about a new revenue source for our Awareness Program. There is another starting soon, Awareness Supporter. A $100.00 donation gets a person a support patch and rocker for the year of the donation. If the donor is a business they get a patches and a certificate of appreciation suitable for framing to display at their place of business. While you are checking your local shops to place signs and flyers feel out the owners to see if they would be interested. The new supplies are in but at last year’s number of students they won't be enough to last the full year. YES we are getting the word out to more people every year. BUT, the more successful we are, the more it costs. Who remembers the movie Catch 22? A soldier tried to get out of the war by pretending to be crazy but the fact that he wanted out just showed how sane he was. This is our Catch 22.The more successful we are, the harder we need to work. I WANT TO RIDE HELMET FREE! but if we win that RIGHT we will need to protect it. Awareness and Rider Education is the key to gaining and then protecting that right. Hey Big Brother, DON'T DICTATE, EDUCATE! Till next time, RIDE. Kritter   Spring is coming. Spring is coming. It really is. As I write this I'm looking out my window at the white stuff. It's about 32 degrees and windy, but spring really is on the way. That means it's time for some spring maintenance. Check those tires, brakes and lights. Practice those riding skills. Don't just jump on the bike and head out into traffic. Warm up to it riding around your neighborhood or  a parking lot. It's also time for Motorcycle Awareness maintenance. Does your region put up plywood Awareness signs? Did some idiot in a cage slide in the snow and damage one of them? Did Mother Nature herself put some wear and tear on them? Do your participating shops and stores have signs for their windows and trifolds and other literature on display? For regions that have active classes do you have enough supplies? We have recently ordered new key rings, bumper stickers and wristbands. They should be in by the time you are reading this. Trifolds and DVDs are also available. Do you have a plan for May (Motorcycle Awareness Month), a way to get the word out? All of those supplies cost money. With tough times we have had to come up with ways to raise it. When signing up a new member or renewal an extra dollar can be designated for Awareness. Monies donated by Regions to Awareness will now go towards a Rocker for your banner. I know we are all looking forward to riding helmet free in the coming year but if that becomes possible that means our responsibilities increase. Our Basic Riding courses and Awareness Classes become MORE important. Accidents and fatalities cannot increase if we hope to keep our hoped for new rights. California was helmet free for a long time but the safetycrats were able to bring back a helmet requirement there. I would hate to finally be free and a few years down the road have to put that thing back on my head because the safetycrats were proved right. We know they are wrong but we will have to prove it. If you need any supplies or info please E-mail or call me. Till then, RIDE, Kritter THE KEY TO PREVENTION IS EDUCATION Did you know that 40% of all accidents involving cars with motorcycles are caused by the car driver that has less than 6 months driving experience? Did you know that approximately 70% of all accidents are the fault of the car driver not seeing the motorcycle? Since 1995, members of ABATE of Michigan, Inc. have taught over 50,000 students, that were about to be get their first drivers license, how to be more aware of motorcycles.  ABATE of Michigan, Inc. is committed to making the general public aware of motorcycles on the roads in Michigan.  One of the ways to achieve a lower accident/fatality rate is to  educate the new driver.  Driver Education instructors are inviting ABATE Awareness Instructors into their classrooms to teach their students important factors on how to prevent accidents involving motorcycles. By making the general public aware of motorcycles on the road, accidents and fatalities will be reduced. STUDENTS ARE  ENCOURAGED TO TAKE A MOTORCYCLE SAFETY CLASS BEFORE RIDING A MOTORCYCLE.  LOOK TWICE -  SAVE A LIFE – Motorcycles are Everywhere For more information call: 810 423 8711    INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET A PROCLAMATION:  Resolution Commemorating May as Motorcycle Awareness Month article here

MAY IS MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS MONTH!  DID YOU KNOW THAT??

Well, as an ABATE member you should.  You should also have been helping your region get the word out about it!  I look forward to seeing the signs pop up around town here and across the state.  I also look forward to seeing what other states are doing as I head south for a week.  Last year Tennessee and Indiana’s governors had messages on the radio regarding motorcycle awareness month.  Kentucky usually has the electronic over head signs on I-65 with the total number of accidents for the previous year (includes cars, not just motorcycles) and also has signs warning motorists to watch out for us.  I want to commend Marlene in Region 7 for getting approval to set up during May at a local roadside park to spread the word and I hope members in her region will help her out in manning the table she will have set up.

Please make note that in June, Terry and I are planning on attending the board meeting at the field meet.  We will be having an awareness meeting afterward, similar to the one we have Friday night at the Seminar in January.  So if any of the awareness directors, or anyone else interested in the program wants to attend, it will be open to everyone.  We would like to keep it positive and help share ideas amongst the regions as to new ideas or old ones or any suggestions to help us further the awareness program.  I am hoping that the contacts I have gotten from Regions 3, 6 and 8 means that those regions will be starting up the program.

A note to the awareness directors:  Terry and I would like it if you could keep track of any awareness fund raisers you have during the year (kind of fund raiser, e.g. Poker run, bake sale etc…) a rough idea of the money that was raised and what you used it for (purchased bill board space, air time on radio etc..).  I would like it if you could get me that info when you send your totals for the year and list of instructors.  We are trying to put together our own propaganda to be used not only for the helmet issue (we are about more than just helmet choice) but also to help draw new members to the organization.  Over the years there has been record keeping about the program and when I started compiling the totals from the beginning, it is quite impressive the number of students that have been taught.  Just a reminder, that this is not a competition as we are all in this together and your fund raising ideas may help another region with theirs.

Kathy

Now a word from Terry:

LET THE OTHER GUY DO IT, OR THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.

Hey, this awareness program is a good thing, glad you guys do it.  How many times have we heard that?  Have you ever said that?  Well, Bull S__t.  Get off your butt and do something to save it.  The gift that keeps on giving (even though unwanted) is a wreck.  Yes, it can happen to you, no matter how careful you are.  It goes something like this:  June 26, 2004 a jerk runs a stop sign and T-bones you on your bike.  You did everything you could think of to get out of his way, but he hit you anyway.  You spend 3 days in the hospital while they take x-rays (should glow in the dark by now), CT scans, blood tests, poking, prodding, twisting and not to mention the scrub brush and antiseptic they use to scrub the dirt out of your road rash, and then they ask “Does this hurt”?  The doctors come in for 3 days and tell you the leg must go until you insist on finding a Dr. willing to try to fix it.  June 28, 6 ½ hours of surgery and 2 days in bed with no movement and they tell you they fixed it as best as possible.  June 31, Rehab starts, they teach you how to walk with a walker, how to use stairs, how to use the bathroom, how to get in and out of bed, chair car etc....  You practice their techniques every day.  Wow it is now ironically July 4^th, Independence Day!  You get out of the hospital and spend the afternoon resting up for the long ride home (the accident happened out of state).  The next day you drag your sorry and mangled behind in the back (the cargo area) of an SUV and bounce around for 8 ½ hours only to be halfway home.  Each rest stop takes a while as you cannot move very quickly and have to be helped in and out of the vehicle and into the restroom.  On July 6^th you get up early to get a start on the 2^nd half of the journey home.  Spend the next 8-9 hours riding in the back of the SUV, your leg, knee, sternum, face and nose are all aching as you have fractures in all, but you must push on.

Now you get home and drag yourself up 3 steps and into the house.  Sleep in recliner in living room as too many stairs to get to bed.  You get to enjoy reruns and think about the pain you are in.  Just a trip to the bathroom is a major effort.  Several days of waking up, hurting, reruns, hurting, nap, hurting, eat, hurting, more reruns, dinner, pain, another nap, more pain and reruns.  Hospital bed arrives but is too painful to sleep in so you spend the next several days and nights in the recliner.  July 14^th, took first trip outside today, and then had to rest.  Evening comes and on your way back from the restroom you collapse, unable to breathe.  Ambulance comes, takes you to hospital, spend several hours while they try to decide what is wrong and what to do with you.  10 days in the hospital with a silver dollar sized blood clot in each lung.  Friday night you get to go home.  Spend Saturday in pain and try to rest. Get up Sunday and cannot breathe again, head back to hospital ER, we already know what is wrong and evidentially the blood thinners are not working.  Spend 14 hours in the ER and gee, get to ride in the ambulance (no siren this time) to main hospital.  Spend 3 more days there, getting poked and prodded and they send you home with a different blood thinner, one you have to inject yourself twice a day and a case of pneumonia too!  You get home and spend the next 13 months going through rehab to bet back about 60% range of motion and that’s all you get, you are told you are lucky to be walking at all let alone riding those dangerous motorcycles.

Now it is January 2006, you get to go to the hospital voluntarily this time for a 3 hour surgery to remove all the screws and plates from your leg.  These are a great visual for the awareness classes by the way (the surgeon let us have the hardware that was removed).

Fast forward to 2009, almost 5 years from the accident.  Knee is so bad the orthopedist cannot believe you can even walk.  Very painful, can’t walk as much or as far as you would like.  Haven’t ridden in 7 months as this is of course your left leg and it is just too painful to push bike off kickstand.  So you decide you have to do something, can’t live like this much longer, cannot put up with pain, swelling  and lack of mobility and NO RIDING.  April 6, 2009 1-1 ½ hours surgery to replace knee, doctor not sure what he will find going is so you are prepared for the worst.  Doctor does find a small surprise, a hole in the bone, he has to fix this before he can do joint replacement.  Surgery takes around 2 hours, spend 2 nights in hospital with rehab twice a day and get to go home Wednesday.  Now the rehab starts again.  THIS SUCKS!  I DID NOTHING WRONG!   I fought like hell to get away from the jerk, but he still hit me and gave me this gift that keeps on giving.  I hope and pray you will never know this first hand but IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!  The answer, TEACH AWARENESS and stop the slaughter

Stay tuned for updates.

Terry

If you need anything pertaining to the awareness program please contact:

Mike Poage
810 423 8711

E-mail: kritterreg20@yahoo.com

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WANTED!

 FORMER AWARENESS INSTRUCTORS!

To help with your region’s awareness program.  Perhaps you can help guide someone in the region on either starting up the awareness program or helping them with the existing one, be a mentor if you can. 

LOOK TWICE!

In your closet, the garage, the basement, the attic or anywhere you may have left over awareness items.  Please get any pens, tri-folds, bumper stickers or key rings to your current awareness director so that they may be used in the classes today.  If you no longer are doing the awareness program in your region, give me a call and I will get you in contact with the nearest region so these supplies can be put to good use.

SAVE A LIFE!

You can possible help save a life or at least help with our budget by getting any unused supplies into the hands of those that can use them. 

MOTORCYCLES ARE EVERYWHERE!

With funds being somewhat tight this year, we will not be getting bumper stickers for the classes.  We really are not seeing them on vehicles in Region 14 and we have handed out over 5000 in the 5 years.   If anyone has any ideas on fund raising or a sponsor for them, please contact me and I will see what we can put together.  If you have any ideas that may be something that a teenager would be more interested in that would get our message out there, please let me know.  Perhaps something smaller that would fit on a cell phone (similar to a helmet sticker), check with your kids and see what ideas they may have.

THANK YOU!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO LARRY KATKOWSKY FOR COMING THRU AND HELPING TO ADD TO OUR BUDGET AND SPONSORING THE KEY RINGS FOR THE AWARENESS PROGRAM.  WE COULDN’T KEEP THIS PROGRAM GOING WITH OUT THE HELP OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND SPONSORS!

I have updated the regional spread sheets on the Awareness Group and am in the process of adding some of the info given to me at the seminar.  If you would like to be part of the group send me an e-mail or check it out and ask to become a member.  Be sure to tell me who you are and what region you are from so I can keep the spammers out.

If there are any suggestions, gripes, comments or whatever… our contact information is below.  Do not hesitate to call us!

Or check out the group site at: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MOTORCYCLE_AWARENESS/

Ride Safe and Aware
Mike Poage

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Wanted to pass along this update I received from Vicki in Region 4.  She took over (started up again, actually) the awareness program this year and has been going gang busters!

ABATE Region 4,   We are ON THE AIR!! The Eagle has already had the Awareness Team on the air talking about Motorcycles on the roads! - and it's not even May yet!   We have 3 recorded messages that will start airing OFFICIALLY May 1st through Labor Day (Yes! for the $1500 voted on we were able to extend through the Labor Day weekend).  Mike Reling at The Eagle said that if he had empty spots he would start our PSA's sooner!  Also, The Eagle has made a Very Generous donation to our cause.  For the one ad per day that we have purchased, they will be airing our ads 3 ADDITIONAL times  - and playing the spots on their "sister stations" in Newberry, Marquette, Ishpeming, and Escanaba! They believe in getting the word out and supporting us!!    A BIG THANK YOU to The Eagle!   Please listen for our spots on the air throughout the summer and mention them to friends!  Thank you!!!   "Look Twice, Save a Life"   Vicky Cosner ABATE of Michigan Region 4 Awareness Director

Great work Vicki!!!! And Region 4.

It saddens me to announce that Terry and I will be stepping down as the head of the awareness program.  Situations have arose where we are no longer able to continue our work with ABATE.  We want to thank all wonderful people we have met over the years and all the awareness volunteers for making this program as successful as it is.  Mike Poage will be heading up the program for the state and I trust he will do a wonderful job.  His contact info is under the board of directors section.   We will be leaving the group site up for Mike if he chooses to continue to use it.

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Happy Motorcycle Awareness Month!!!!!!

First, I would like to let the regional awareness coordinators know that we have received the new order of pens and key rings.  I would also like to thank Pam Piacenti for retyping the tri-fold for the classes as a faxed copy of what we had did not reproduce very well, and Vince P. for getting us a screaming deal on the printing.

Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of the riding season.  Please make sure to follow the different guidelines for making sure your bike is in proper order and then practice some of the skills that were taught in the safety classes (if you haven’t taken one, try to sign up, it will be well worth your while!), and most of all be aware of those who are not aware of you out there.

Something new on the state level:  With the new printing of the membership applications there will be a box where you can insert an extra dollar amount to be added to the awareness budget.  This will not count toward any rockers, but if anyone wants to help out the awareness budget this would be one way to do so.

Terry and I are planning on having another meeting with the awareness instructors following the board meeting at the field meet.  If anyone needs supplies let me know so I can bring them to the field meet.  If anyone has any suggestions, tips or complaints, please them to this meeting.   This will be similar to the Friday night meeting at the state seminar, a way for us to get together and share ideas etc…

Oh well, I am going to get working on folding my tri-folds (if you missed it in a previous article, we will be folding the tri-folds to save a few bucks) and the key rings came with the tag separate from the ring so I am  going to be working on that also.  We did not know the key tags were coming this way, but after seeing the packaging it is understandable why they did, so hopefully the volunteers in the regions won’t have too much trouble with this, could be a good excuse for a party!

Or check out the group site at: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MOTORCYCLE_AWARENESS/

Ride Safe and Aware

 

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Happy Easter everyone!  I know some of you have already been out riding as I see several bikes go by as I write this.  I hope you all have your programs up and running for what I hope will be a banner year for the Awareness Program.  I will have an updated proclamation on the awareness group site for you to use if you choose for May as Motorcycle Awareness Month.  Thanks to Ann Tobian in region 18 for this updated version as well as the step by step directions for getting a proclamation.

I am attaching a paper I received from Region 7 that they use in their awareness program.  It gets one thinking and hopefully the students thinking too.  Feel free to us in your classes if you choose ( copy of just the paper will also be in the files section of the yahoo group site, see address below)

From Region 7:

Let’s imagine that you’re driving with your instructor, or maybe your parents, it doesn’t matter.  There’s a car in front of you, & it gets your attention because it’s constantly hitting the brakes, swerving or drifting from side to side in the lane and driving too slow.  If I were to ask you to tell me what’s wrong with the driver, what would you say? (Wait for some answers).  Odds are the driver is drunk or high right?  Cops are taught to watch for those 3 things as telltale signs of and reasonable cause to stop a drunk driver.  They are taught that any one of those behaviors will show a 50/50 chance that the driver is drunk.

Now a couple of stories…..

Before his accident, Austin Barker had loved riding motorcycles for most of his life and he considered himself to be an experienced, safe rider.  Today he’s a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  He was rear-ended by a driver while he was stopped at a red light.  He’ll never ride again.

A Honda sport bike rider was moving at a little over the posted speed when a VW driver suddenly pulled out in front of the bike.  The timing was such that the bike rider had no reaction time and he hit the VW broadside.  The VW flipped over from the impact and when it finally cane to rest, about 20 feet from the collision, there were 3 people found in the car.  The car driver, a passenger and the bike rider, plus his bike, all were in the car & all 3 were killed instantly.

OK, back to the 3 telltale signs…what I described here, were signs of drivers talking on a cell phone or texting while they were driving.  Research has shown that talking on a cell, whether it’s hands free or not, or texting while driving, increases the possibility for an accident by 400%!  That’s the same possibility for an accident while driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08, which is the legal definition of drunk driving in Michigan.  Austin Barker was hit from behind by a driver using a cell phone.  The VS drover was also on a cell phone.

The penalties for the drink driver or the driver using a cell phone are not the same, but most likely they are the same for people who are victims of the drunk driver or the cell phone user…either serious injury or death.  Please don’t use your phone while you’re driving, hands free or not, you need all of your attention and focus on the road.

If you need anything pertaining to the awareness program please contact:

 

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February 2010

STOP THE PRESSES:  HELL HAS OFFICIALLY FROZEN OVER!

Mike Poage in Region 20 was actually setting up a computer at his house the other night.  Just last month he sent his first e-mail and now he is moving into the current century.  Hope things go smoothly for ya Mike.

Well for the numbers for 2009.  I can only share the figures that were forwarded to me so if there are any regions out there that are not on this list, it is not because I forgot you or left you off for some reason; it is simply because I did not receive any info from your region.

TOTAL STUDENTS TAUGHT FOR 2009: 5689

TOTAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS: 3060

APPROXIMATE TOTAL SPENT BY ABATE AND IT’S

                                          REGIONS ON AWARENESS IN 2009:  OVER $33,000.

Region 1:  0 (they are working on getting back into the schools)

Region 4:  just getting started again, looking forward to 2010

Region 7:  Sanilac/Shady Shores 626    Tuscola/ Huron 467 total 1093

Region 11:  396

Region 13:  no report, but I know they were working on a bike to take to classes once they get up and running again.

Region 14: 1126

Region 15:  See total for region 18 as they have been working together this year

Just Jim Pigeon:  460

Region 18:  708

Region 19:  0

Region 20:  1907

Region 21:   3060 Public Service Announcements that ran all summer.

Here are the numbers by region, and I just want to remind everyone that this is not a competition, we are all on the same team and working toward the same goal, safer streets for all of us!  I know the class sizes are getting smaller in our area and I am sure it is due to the economy.  $300 for drivers ed and then your auto insurance rates go up because there is a newly licensed driver in the household.  This can be unaffordable for a lot of folks these days.

Way to go Region 21; they had little or no schools to get into so they have improvised.  I know that for the two radio stations to stay on the air they have to have more than one listener per hour and their public service announcements run 10 times per day, 7 days per week times 2 stations for 5 months, well lets just say that that is a lot of people who have heard about motorcycle awareness in our state. 

I know Terry and I, every chance we get with our local radio station along with WRIF we try to get a shameless plug in to be more aware of us motorcyclists.  Hopefully more of the regions that perhaps don’t have many or any schools to teach at can learn from Peggy in Region 21 and help to spread the word.

GREAT JOB IN 2009 EVERYONE!  LET’S HOPE WE CAN TOP IT AGAIN IN 2010.

If any of the regions (even those reporting above) need any help with getting into schools or starting to teach, please contact us and we will do what ever we can do to get you the help you need.  If you need more info on how to get the public service announcements going, we hope to have some form of guidelines set up to help you do what Region 21 is doing.

If there are any suggestions, gripes, comments or whatever… our contact information is below.  Do not hesitate to call us!

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January 2010

Happy 2010 and Happy Sweet 16!

Do you know who or should I say what turns 16 this year, none other than our Motorcycle Awareness Program!

And I am pleased to say that there are still 3 active members who have been at this from the beginning.  So if you happen to see Chuck Manning, Butch Brown or Danny Brown, give them a pat on the back, a hand shake or some form of congratulations for sticking with this program for all these years.

First I want to thank Marlene and Karen in Region 7 for being the first to get me their information for the certificates for this year, and this was done with out e-mail too.  I also want to thank Mike in Region 20 for taking a big step and sending his first e-mail (with the help of the folks at Kinko’s), well done Mike.  I want to thank all the other region awareness directors for getting me their info so we can recognize those folks that volunteer their time for this program.

I received an e-mail the other day from Vicky Cosner in Region 4 giving me an update of her progress in getting the awareness program going again up there.  Sounds like you folks have quite an organized lady running things and I am sure that you will have one heck of a program.  Again if you need any assistance from us or from any other region, please let us know and we will try to get you what you need.

I should have had information for the region directors at the state seminar for billboard prices from CBS.  Russ Martin in Region 11 forwarded the contact info to me for the lady they deal with on their awareness billboards and she did a special pricing for ABATE.  Their sizes are somewhat limited in some areas, but hey, it’s a start.  If any of you have contacts with any other billboard companies, please get them to me so I can compile a list for the regions to use to compare prices and see if they can get a good deal in their area.  If you did not get to the seminar and get the info from me, please let me know and I will be glad to forward to you.

In the February issue I should have the totals listed for each region as well as our grand total for the year and the estimated grand total from the beginning of the program.

Great work in 2009 everybody, see you in 2010!

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December 2009

Happy Holidays all you faithful awareness team members.

First I would like to say Welcome to the Program again Region 4.  I have spoken with Vicky Cosner who is going to try to get the program up and running in your region again.  After a long conversation with her she sounds like she is going to do a great job.  She says she has some help from the members who were active in the awareness program before and I hope she gets additional help from other members in her region.  Unfortunately right after I spoke with her I received the e-mail stating that Region 4 Gary Slawter was hit.  We are all pulling for a speedy recovery for him!

     On a good or bad note, depending on which side of the budget you are on, I am running low on supplies so I will have to place an order soon.  Chuck ordered 2 years worth, which I received in January and February of this year. I don’t know exactly as I have many boxes still in the basement, but I am guessing that we have gone thru approximately 75%.  The good note is that means we are increasing the number of people we are reaching with our program; the bad note is that we will be increasing the cost of the program (that isn’t a bad thing when you consider the two). 

      I hope that all the regional directors will have their members lists to me by the time you receive this edition of the Michigan Rider and that you will have your final 2009 figures (total students taught and fund raising info) into me before the end of the year.  Again, if there are any members in your region that have not received their 1^st, 5^th or 10^th year certificates from a previous year, get me their names as this is the last year I am going to do retro certificates.

     Any ideas or suggestion you have for the program, please call or e-mail me or better yet bring them to the Friday night meeting at the state seminar in January to share with the other regions.  Friday night will be our kick around meeting.  Bring your ideas, questions or whatever (please try to come sober), and meet instructors from other regions.  I am going to try to have a draft of the guidelines we are putting together for the program and would like any input regarding them.  On Saturday we will be having a 45 min. breakout session to show those who do not know about the awareness program what we are doing.

     If you are going to need supplies, please let me know well in advance so I can plan on how to pack the car as I would like to bring them to the seminar to save on shipping costs.

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November 2009
Happy Thanksgiving to all our ABATE members and Awareness Team members.

     Again we would like input from the awareness directors of each region and the instructors and helpers for the booklet we are trying to put together.  We want your thoughts as to what you think your job/duties are and also what you think our job as the state directors is.  To simplify things and reduce redundancies please give your ideas/suggestion to your regional awareness director and have them forward the entire regions suggestions to us.  We would like to have all the information from the regions as soon as possible as we would like to have this together for the seminar in January.  I want to thank Marlene Krause for forwarding me the information she had received from Chuck Manning previously, and we will be combining this with the ideas Terry and I have come up with.  We are trying to get everything together so we can have a set of guidelines so anyone new to the program will know what is expected from them and what they should expect from the other awareness team members in their region.

      I also want to remind the regional directors to get your totals together and to us before Christmas, preferably by the middle of December if you have your classes all wrapped up by then.  I would also like to have your list of awareness team members for 2009 by November 30 so I can get started on the certificates.  We have been getting inquiries for certificates for previous years, we were not in charge of this program at that time and do not know what happened in prior years.  So if you have been an awareness team member and did not get a first, 5 or 10-year certificate, get your info to your regions awareness director for verification and have them submit the info along with the year you should have received the certificate and we will have these at the state seminar.  Just make note that this is the last year we are going to do retroactive certificates.  We have enough to do with trying to move this program forward without having to go back and redo prior years work.   We are also looking for any information on fundraisers done in your region (e.g.: poker run, bake sale etc.) that raised money for your awareness program and what the money was used for (billboards, space at the fair etc…) so we can get this information together to further our efforts in repealing the mandatory helmet law.  We are not looking to use this information for anything other than ammunition to use with our legislators to show that we are serious about making the roads safer for all motorcyclists.

     At the seminar in January we are going to try to have the meeting Friday night to kick ideas around so please try to make it if you can.  On Saturday we will be having a presentation on the awareness program to introduce the program to those members that may not be familiar with what we do.  Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome for this also.

     If you are not currently active with the awareness program in your region, or if your region does not have an active awareness program, please let us know what it would take to get you or your region involved.  The life you save may be your own!

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October 2009

Happy fall fellow ABATE members and Awareness instructors.

     This past month we spent a few days in the thumb area.  I want to commend Region 11 and Region 7 (at least I assume your members are responsible) for all the awareness signs that are out there.  We spent the night in Harbor Beach at a friend’s house and then spent the following day in Caseville at the state park with Region 19 for their luncheon.  I was pleasantly surprised to see several of the small yard signs between Lapeer and Marlette and then east to Harbor Beach.  There is one of the banners just down the road from Evergreen Park.  I saw another of the banners but don’t remember exactly where it was.  There were several more of the smaller yard signs south of Caseville.

     On September 6 I attended the 9-11 ride in Oxford.  Met up with Chip, Sylvia and Rennie from Region 19.  We passed several more of the yard signs on the run.  We had lunch at the Firehouse in Fostoria and I think it was the Tribesmen’s Clubhouse had one right on the front of their clubhouse.  We stopped for gas in Brown and there was one of the banners hanging on the front of the gas station (I think it was a BP, not sure though).  Basically if you travel anywhere in the thumb you will probably come across one of our awareness signs.  Great job folks!

     Again we would like input from the awareness directors of each region and the instructors and helpers for the booklet we are trying to put together.  We want your thoughts as to what you think your job/duties are and also what you think our job as the state directors is.  We would like to have all the information from the regions as soon as possible as we would like to have this together for the seminar in January.

     I also want to remind the regional directors to get your totals together and to us before Christmas and to also get me your list of awareness personnel in your region so I can get started on the first year, 5,10 and 15-year certificates.  I will need the list of active people for this year to update the records I have.  We are also looking for any fundraisers done in your region (e.g.: poker run, bake sale etc.) that raised money for your awareness program and what the money was used for (billboards, space at the fair etc…) so we can get this information together to further our efforts in repealing the mandatory helmet law.

     Ride safe and treat every cage out there like they are aiming for ya!  Be careful with the wet leaves and the temp. changes when you are out there riding too.  You never know when the pavement is going to feel like ice.

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September 2009

Hi there fellow ABATE members.  I hope you have all had an uneventful riding season so far.  I know a few here in Livingston County have not had good experiences with cagers not paying attention.  Two accidents in two days, one resulting in a fatality.  Alcohol was probably a factor in the first and “not seeing the motorcyclist” the second.

I don’t have too much for this month’s article, as Terry and I have been busy trying to put together some guidelines for the awareness program.  We would like to have a handbook for who ever eventually ends up chairing the program after us (and no we are not stepping down yet, just trying to get things in order for the next guy).  We would also like to have some guidelines for the regional awareness directors and the regional instructors. 

What I would like from those working the awareness program in each region to send me any ideas or suggestions you have that you thing should be in this handbook.  I would like to know what the regional awareness directors think should be in here and what they think their duties and responsibilities are.  I would like the same from the awareness instructors.  We will take all suggestions into consideration and try to have this handbook for the state seminar.

A follow up on the chili cook off challenge that we are trying to pull off here in Livingston County.  The under sheriff thinks it is a great idea and even expanded it beyond the sheriff’s dept to include fire, local police and even the state boys.  The only positive response was from the State Police, they were the only one’s interested in taking on the bikers (and yes they did know this was with ABATE)!  Go figure.  Anyway, we are working on some other avenues to possibly put this event in conjunction with another event here in the county.  Watch for future updates.

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August
2009

I want to thank everyone that donates their time to this program for the wonderful job you are all doing.  If anyone has any ideas for the awareness program please let us know or if you have an article for this program I would be glad to get it in the Michigan Rider for you.

We have purchased a VHS/DVD recorder so we can now copy the awareness video from VHS to DVD.  I will also be working on getting some other videos put on the DVD that you can use for other events like membership drives, swap meets etc…  If any of the regions need any additional tapes or DVDs please let me know, but give me time to get them copied because right now we are still learning how to operate the machine and it takes between 30-60 minutes to copy one DVD.

By now some of you have heard that we are trying to pull together a fundraiser for the state awareness program.  We have contacted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department and have challenged them to a chili cook off this fall.  We are currently working on the detail and will hopefully have a date and place lined up soon.  This will be open to any ABATE member (if you don’t cook, bring someone that can as anyone can stir the pot).  We hope to have a small concession sales table for beverages and activities for kids as we want to make this a family event.  We will also be looking for volunteers to help at the gate and with set up and clean up afterward.  We plan on having the public vote for their favorite chili.  Each side (the badges or the bikers) can have several teams.  The side whose team gets the most votes will take 60% of the profits; the losing side gets 40% so it is a win-win for everyone.  If you think you can help us with this let us know and watch for updates as we sure do hope the biker’s side wins.  Proceeds will help to supplement the awareness budget.

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July
2009

Hello there ABATE members,

     Boy have I been getting orders for supplies.  Looks like some of you have been very busy.  Thing are picking up in my region and we even have a couple of new volunteers (thanks Debra Revard and Bob Powers for giving a s_it!)  I know there is at least one new instructor in Region 20 and hopefully other regions are seeing more volunteers.

     Spoke with Herb Rials at the Freedom Rally and he is going to try to get the program up and running again in region 9.  Any members that way that want to help out be sure to let Herb know.  Terry and/or I will try to be available to offer any assistance we can.

     By the time this goes to print we should have had our 2^nd awareness meeting this year (it is still 2 weeks away as I am writing this).  I hope we cleared up any misconceptions, hashed out any problems and have come up with some new ideas.  This meeting will have been like the one we have in January where we share ideas and bring up new ways of teaching the classes.  I hope to have had time to get a directors guide together in time for the meeting.  This will be just a guide for the regional directors to let them know what some of their responsibilities would be and to get down on paper what type of info we are looking for on the state level so we can use it to leverage our legislators.

     Terry and I will also be looking into some of the federal funds that are supposed to be available for safety and awareness and see what we can get and where we can put it to use.  We are also trying to get one of our classes filmed so we can use it to show at swap meets, fairs etc… to get the word out about ABATE’s Best Kept Secret!  This could also be used for those regions that need help getting started, so they can see what we actually do in the classes.

     That’s all I have for now, and if you have any problems, questions, concerns please call us and let us know how we can help.  If your region needs help getting started, by all means, call us and we will offer whatever help we can.

     Just an FYI, you don’t have to be in front of drivers ed students to spread the message.  Terry actually taught an abbreviated class while he was at Physical Therapy.  This brought our message to 12 adults of varying ages, and guess what, they all drive and a few have friends/relatives that ride and they appreciated the information.

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June
2009

Well with the amount of supplies that I mailed out in April it appears that things are going very well.  If anyone in Region 3 is interested in helping Wally (he is your RC) with the program please give him a call.  I am hoping that both Region 8 and 6 are in the progress of getting their programs up and running again.  I hope all the regions had success with their Motorcycle Awareness month projects.  We did see Region 20’s billboard in Flint.

One observation that I have as we were in Florida the end of April.  On the way home there was an announcement on the radio in Alabama for an awareness event that included getting people in the safety classes to get licensed.  In Tennessee, the Governors office on Highway Safety had a very good PSA on the Radio about looking out and sharing the road with us.  They also had a 76 cities in 76 days event in which they traveled to 76 different cities across Tennessee promoting motorcycle safety.  We usually see the electronic signs in Kentucky warning to watch for us, but they didn’t have anything on them this year.  So we are not the only ones promoting awareness in this country.   I am sure there were plenty of other states having events too, but it was nice to hear as someone traveling thru the state that they cared enough to air these messages.

REMINDER:  AWARENESS MEETING FOLLOWING THE BOARD MEETING AT THE FIELD MEET.  THOSE THAT ARE NOT ATTENDING THE FIELD MEET CAN STILL ATTEND THE BOARD MEETING WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY TO GET INTO THE FIELD MEET.  THIS MEETING WILL BE OPEN TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE AWARENESS PROGRAM.  WE WILL BE KICKING AROUND/SHARING IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC TO MAKE OUR PROGRAM BETTER.

If any regions need supplies and are planning on being there please let me know well in advance so I can bring them with me and save on postage costs.

If anyone wants to submit an article for the awareness column please contact us and if fitting the program you may see it here in the future.

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING:

Well a short follow up to Terry’s article last month.  He is doing remarkably well following his third (and hopefully last) surgery.  It has been a long 5 weeks but he is making great progress with his physical torture.  It is rough because like any typical man, it isn’t working fast enough.  Hopefully he will be able to ride again, but we will have to wait and see.   Please remember to ride like you are invisible and everyone is out to get you.

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April
2009

Well here it is April already.

How many of you have been out there, in traffic, out on the back roads, enjoying being out in the air?  Hopefully you didn’t have any near misses or worse yet, have contact with that inconsiderate motorist who did not see you.  I am like the rest of you as I look forward to spring and the weather warming up, the roads drying up and the snow/ice being over with for several months, but I also dread that first really nice, sunny, warm day when so many of us get out there take a ride.  I dread it because I know that I will read about someone who was run off the road here, another hit at an intersection there and the dreaded “f” word that describes those of us who did not survive that chance meeting with a cage.

This just makes me more hopeful that more and more of our fellow ABATE members will get involved with the awareness program.  Whether you want to help with fund raisers, or actually help out in the classes, every little bit does help.  Any little thing you can do to help promote the awareness program helps us all out there on the road.  Perhaps you are good on the computer and can put some graphics together for a poster for your region, or the state.  Perhaps you have one of those great speaking voices and could help out with public service announcements to spread the word to even more people.  Maybe you know of a church youth group, or scout troop or other your organization that you can help get our instructors in front of. 

Next month is motorcycle awareness month.  I hope you all have checked out the step by step instructions that Ann Tobian in Region 18 supplied us with for getting local proclamations.  They should be on the state web site.  If you want a copy let me know and I will send or e-mail it to you.  Several of the regions have purchased billboards that they get up for May and some of us have large yard signs we put in strategic places.  Some other suggestions I have gotten: check with the local store that has the sign out front where they can change the message, see if they will put “motorcycle awareness month” and/or “Look Twice, Save a Life” up there.  Even if it is only for part of the month it will help remind car drivers to watch for us.  Perhaps you could put together a flyer with Motorcycle awareness month on one side and information about ABATE’s Awareness program on the other.  I have done this and gotten the local pizza shop to put them on every box.  You could check with the local donut shop, sub shop, bagel place.  Anywhere people get something to carry out, offer to already have them folded or leave flat depending on what the store would want.  I work in a medical office and I am allowed to put one in every statement I mail out (I try to do it in April and May).  It doesn’t take me any longer to put the extra piece of paper in the envelope and the office has gotten a positive response.  I also write and editorial and send to the local papers.  They don’t always get printed, but most of them do and we have gotten contacts for the schools we teach at from these.  Find new ways to spread the word and help us get ABATE’s best kept secret out there.

To steal a couple phrases from some famous speeches:  “I have a dream”, that every ABATE member will help with the awareness program and that this state will become the 21^st choice state because we did such a great job of getting people to be more aware of us that the accident rate in Michigan fell dramatically and that all motorcyclists in the state take a safety course, get licensed if they are not, and ride as safely as possible and straight!  We cannot do anything about the wildlife we sometimes meet up with but I do believe we can do something about the other humans out there.

Ask not what AWARENESS can do for you; ask what you can do for AWARENESS!  Contact your local awareness director or RC and see how you can help.

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January
2009

Hello fellow ABATE members and Awareness Instructors.

By now some of you may have heard that Chuck Manning has stepped down as State Awareness Coordinator.  To the best of my knowledge he has generously worked in this position from the beginning.  That’s 14 years folks of trying to get and keep this program running and saving your butts out there on the road.

Thank You Chuck for stepping up for all these years and “giving a sh_t” about our safety out there on the road, and doing a fine job to boot, eh?  If you happen to see Chuck please thank him for his dedication to this program.

Now for some updates on the awareness program: I have the following regions reporting their totals for 2008: Region 1- 75 students Region 7- 548 students Region 11- 442 students Region 12- 0 students ** Region 13- 150 students Region 14- 1075 students Region 15- 507 students Region18- 1239 students Region 19- 150 students Region 20-1454 students Region 21- 0 students**   STATE TOTAL FOR 2008 – 5640 STUDENTS TOTAL SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN IN 1995- 57,210 STUDENTS.

This is an impressive figure for a volunteer organization such as ours!  Great job for all those involved with this program.  Just a hint folks, when you contact your legislators about our helmet bills, please use this information to show what else we are doing make the roads safer out there!

I want to thank the following for making it to the meeting Friday Night in Saginaw (I know some of you were not able to attend because you are on other committees who had meetings at the same time and it is hard to be in 2 places a the same time):  Region 7- Karen Sheridan, Ken & Fran Gainforth,  Region 1- Linda Eads, Region 13- Darlene Kenzie, Region 18- Mark Buchanan (new coordinator for this region, thanks for stepping up, or not stepping back quick enough Mark) and Shyny Bob,  Region 20- Mike Poage and Jo “mama” Bruce (hope your knee is feeling better!).  They all had a lot of good ideas and we will be seeing what we can implement in the future.

With the economy the way it is in this state we have seen enrollment in the private drivers ed schools decrease as well as several schools close up.  We keep plugging away at ways to reach the young driving age folks out there but we will talk to any age group that is close to driving age or older (not much sense in talking to kids younger than 13 as they really don’t know a lot about driving and are too young to yet understand the ramifications of not paying attention behind the wheel) so if you know of any organization that would benefit from our free program, contact your region’s awareness coordinator or RC.  If you do not have an active awareness program in your region but would like to start one up, give us a call and we will try to get you the help you need.  The 2 regions marked with ** above have not been able to get into or don’t have many drivers ed programs in their areas.  Linda in Region 12 needs more help as she could do an assembly at the local public schools if some others in her region would step up to give her a hand.  Peggy in Region 21 has been supplying the local radio stations with public service announcements about being more aware of motorcycles on the road and has probably reached more people of all ages than all the regions combined for 2008.  These radio stations cover Michigan from roughly St. Johns (just north of Lansing) to the Mackinaw Bridge.  She will be forwarding us info on what and how she is doing this and we will be supplying this to all the regions so perhaps we can have the entire state covered by these announcements!

By now some of you may be wondering who will be running the Awareness program since Chuck is stepping down?  Terry and I have volunteered to take over the program so in the future if you need supplies or help in any way please contact us.  We will do whatever we can to help you with your regions program and are looking for ideas to improve this program statewide. If you are reading this and have not seen what we do in our presentations and my be interested in helping out but don’t know who to contact give us a call or send an e-mail, let us know where you are at and we will try to get you in contact with someone near you.  Our contact information is below as well as the Yahoo Group I have set up for Awareness.  We will try to update information on the group as well as post photos, links etc….that you can use for your region.  I would love for this group to be an avenue for all the regions to share ideas information and to help improve the program.

For those that may not be aware of it May is usually designated Motorcycle Awareness Month and I know first hand that Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama recognize it as such.  We have heard radio spots from their Governors and or other folks reminding drivers to watch out for us.  Time to dust off the billboards for those regions that have them.  Check the yard signs and clean them up or do any repairs that need to be done and get them ready to be put up.  Check with your local businesses that have the changeable signs in front of their buildings and see if they will put up the info (if not for the whole month a week or two is better than nothing).  Get your local municipalities to proclaim locally May is Motorcycle Awareness month.  I will be forwarding info to all the RC’s and Awareness Coordinators on how to do this.  Ann Tobian in Region 18 has done a great job of giving me everything you need to do and how to do it so it shouldn’t be too hard.  I will also get this info posted on the Awareness group and the state web site.

Ps:  When we publish figures, numbers or information.  It is not to be a slam or any type of determent to what you are doing.  It is information that we have gotten.  As you all know, when information gets passed from hand to hand there sometimes are errors, typos etc… So if there is anything incorrect, comments, complaints, tips don’t sit back and stew about it, contact us by any means so we can work out any problems, make corrections etc..  We are open to any and all members of ABATE and the awareness program for their feedback.  We aren’t thinned skinned, we will take whatever comes out way.

AWARENESS TEAM? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? ABATE                                TOGETHER                               WILL                                   EDUCATING                           ASSUME                             ALL RESPONSIBILITY              MOTORISTS ENCOURAGING NECESSARY EDUCATIONAL  Author: Marlene Krause-Region 7 “Awareness Team”                SAFETY SEMINARS

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