Therapy On Two Wheels

Improve your visual perception to be safer on the road. Choose either Road Sign Tests or Collision Traps Tests. The Road Sign Tests help you identify common road signs. The Collision Traps Tests help you evaluate riding situations. Both types of tests demonstrate how quickly your eyes and mind work together if you are attentive.

Each test has 10 questions and each test will be different. Keep trying until you consistently earn a perfect score of 20 out of 20 points. Also, for more information, view the Perception Facts and Sign Glossary links available on the front page.

Rider Perception

Commuting to work on a Honda Goldwing is always a pleasure and when it’s a 50+ mile one this is a good thing! This morning was no exception. It was about 82 degrees when I left the house not too bad. Well, most of ya’ll know, but probably not all that I am a motorcyle instructor as well as the Chapter Educator and safety guy in my Gold Wing group that I belong to. Anyways, I am what some call an ATGATT rider. Simply put, All The Gear All The Time. I currently ride with an Olympia riding suit (this reminds me, I need to do a review on this suit), riding gloves and of course my full face modular helmet. Yes, most of the time I look like I’m about to launch off in a spacecraft of some type. Where am I headed with this? Well, this suit is a mesh cordura suit and it provides fantastic ventilation IF your moving! You see this particular morning several vehicle on another highway decided it would be a good idea to share the same place at the same time, basically a 6 car pile up. This pile up wasn’t even on the highway I was on but rather one that feeds into it or where they merge. Basically it was a huge mess and caused a very large backup for many highways. Needless to say it was HOT and Muggy. Luckily I was smart and only had my under shirt on and my other shirt was in the trunk. Legs and arms where fine just got sweaty on the back a bit, and not as bad as I thought it was going to be thanks to my baker built air wings that direct air into me as I’m riding. The gold wing is a dream to ride and pilot. The best part about riding into work is that when you get there you can’t wait for the day to be over because you know you get to ride home. Today’s ride home was nothing but peaceful. Always a dream.

Reprinted with permission by the Editor of  Thunder Roads Texas Magazine. Please visit them at: http://thunderroadstexas.com/

Motorcyclists are celebrating a “win” in this year’s Texas Legislative Session – Texas Senate Bill 1967 (SB1967), authored by Senator John Carona(R-Dallas) and sponsored by Representative Norma Chavez (D-El Paso). Governor Rick Perry signed the bill into law on June 19, 2009, with an effective date September 1, 2009. This new law introduces many motorcycle-related changes in the Lone Star State that affect all riders:

• Funding by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) for a public awareness campaign to promote motorcyclist safety and the concept of sharing the road with motorcyclists (an extension of the Look, Learn, Live campaign introduced in 2008);

• Changes to the definition of a motorcycle to include certain enclosed three-wheeled passenger vehicles;

• Changes to the licensing requirements for enclosed three-wheeled passenger vehicles;

• A requirement for all applicants for a motorcycle license, or endorsement on a regular or commercial driver’s license, to provide proof of successful completion of an approved basic motorcycle operator training course, such as that offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF);

• Penalties for failure to yield the right-ofway violations resulting in bodily injury range from $500 to $2,000, while those resulting in serious bodily injury range from $1,000 to $4,000;

• A prohibition against law enforcement stopping or detaining a motorcycle operator, or passenger, solely to determine whether the person has successfully completed a motorcycle operator training and safety course or is covered by a health insurance plan;

• A requirement for the Department of Transportation to develop a standard of proof of health insurance coverage for adult motorcycle operators and passengers; and

• A requirement that all driver education courses or driving safety courses include information on motorcycle awareness, dangers of failure to yield the right-ofway to motorcyclists, and the need to share the road with motorcyclists.

What does this mean to riders in Texas?

• There has long been the requirement of having the motorcycle endorsement/license to legally operate a motorcycle in the state of Texas. Right now, you may have the option of taking a basic riders course to replace the riding portion of the test. Effective September 1, an approved basic rider course will now be required in order to apply and test for the motorcycle endorsement.

• Many ride without a motorcycle license/endorsement. This new requirement will increase those numbers. In response to this probability, if caught driving a motorcycle after September 1 without the motorcycle endorsement, law enforcement officials may confiscate your bike until proof of attendance in Motorcycle Riding Course.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Currently scheduled classes are filling up fast, additional class dates will be slow to come online, and prices will most likely increase. So, if you’re riding without your motorcycle endorsement, make arrangements and get it now. More on this coming in our August issue from David Y of Awesome Cycles in Houston, an MSF course provider.

• For those “old salts” who have been riding for years, The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is testing a pilot Advanced Basic Riding Course. This will be a shorter course than the two-day basic for beginners. At this time, it is unknown when this will be available.

• FINALLY, increases in failure to yield right-of-way! Hopefully, stiffer penalties will help, even if indirectly, with motorcycle awareness in general.

• The Texas Education Agency (TEA) had already started providing materials about motorcycle awareness to drivers’ education classes. With the new funding, new materials can be developed and distributed.

• You will see more motorcycle awareness promotions coming from TXDOT, the Texas Transportation Institute, and the Texas Motorcycle Safety Council.

• For riders who have fought for the right to ride without a helmet – SUCCESS! The round sticker on the license plate for not wearing a helmet goes away… and having to show the dollar value of insurance on insurance card goes away. Insurance is still required, but a specific dollar amount is not longer stated.

• Law enforcement cannot just pull us over because we are not wearing helmets. However, keep in mind, they can still pull you over for other perceived violations and then check for proper licensing and insurance, just as they will with cage drivers.

• The money collected from the motorcycle endorsement had been earmarked for training and motorcycle  a w a r e n e s s  campaigns. Over the last few years, the government has been “borrowing” from this account, which left funding for these programs short. This law puts the funds back.

There may be some back lash from law enforcement or, some officers on the street may not get the news quickly (taking up to three years in some cases when traffic laws change). Sputnik advises all riders to print out a copy of this bill and keep it on their motorcycles; it may save you some hassle. Visit ThunderRoadsTexas.com to download a PDF file of the bill text and/or the Committee Report.

Texas ABATE and the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA) continue to fight for the rights of motorcyclists around the state. They have a lot of work to do before the next Texas Legislative Session in 2011 (held every two years). They will be working closely with TXDOT, TTI, DPS along

with various motorcycle awareness groups throughout the state to help implement the training and awareness campaigns for which this particular law provides. If you have any awareness campaign ideas or want to see what’s up, visit TexasABATE.org or TMRA2.org.

A special thanks to DDie, who has too many titles and associations to list here, for an update on this information for our readers. If you want to ask him questions or provide some ideas for motorcycle awareness campaigns, feel free to contact him directly at Gump69@gt.rr.com.

Reprinted with permission by the Editor of  Thunder Roads Texas Magazine. Please visit them at: http://thunderroadstexas.com/