Is Enough Enough

In my right mirror I saw a motorcycle come flying out of the ditch and into the air without a rider, crashing into the trees along the highway. Then, I saw the gleam of chrome moving on the highway behind me as a second scooter slid on its side down the road along with the rider. This highway was a very nice straight slab of cement. The warm Sun was shining, the groups speed was at an even pace, and the traffic was light … so what happened? The rear bike wasn’t paying attention to the bike ahead on his left and clipped the saddlebags when the bike ahead slowed and moved toward the shoulder, sending both bikes to the ground.
The rider that slid down the road ahead of the one in the ditch had signaled with his right turn signal indicator light that he was in need of pulling to the shoulder. Bu t… was it enough to draw attention from those behind that he was pulling over? No, it wasn’t. Of course the rider behind should have been paying attention, but he wasn’t. In a group, or riding lone wolf, when you need to make an unexpected move in traffic like pulling over or turning, make sure your intentions are enough to be known by those around you. The way to do that Grasshopper is by using all the resources you have, like the proper hand signal along with your motorcycle’s signals. Holding a hand in the air, or straight out to turn, along with your bikes signals will give you a better chance of being seen by those behind you, and in front of you, and hopefully everyone can respond accordingly.
“Was it enough” is something you will think about forever after an accident or near miss. When you think about the four wheeler that came out of nowhere, you will wonder if you applied the brakes correctly: was it enough front brake, or did you stomp on the rear brake with your foot like you were in a cage and locked up the rear wheel?
Never be left wondering if you have enough rider’s skill, practice when you can and use enough of that skill to change that accident into a near miss. If you are well practiced in braking, swerving and using your head and eyes you already know you have enough skill to be safe. Having enough skill isn’t hard to do, the hard part is accumulating enough of the correct skills and using them to save your butt when enough is just barely enough, but it was enough.
John ‘Hammer’ Hanzlik
ALR Road Captain
Post 1 Chapter
Omaha,Neb.