BACKROADS • DECEMBER 2021
Page 38
The Law Office of Paul Gargiulo, P.C. presents
Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully A column dedicated to your riding survival
GIVE ME A BRAKE! Alexandra has been enjoying her ride. She made it an early night, heading home before the day changed, leaving her friends that were heading to another dance club. She had plans for this day and it was worth giving up her Saturday night (or Sunday morning) to get up and out before 9 and heading up in the country, away from the urban squall that is the suburbs these days. Lunch along the river and discovering a few unknown to her roads made it even better. But all good things come to an end, well that is what she thought as she realized the sun was setting and she had to get home – Zabu, her Bengal cat, would be looking for his dinner about now. Heading west she was having a very difficult time with the sun, now edging closer and closer to the horizon – directly in front of her. She slowed to a stop at a traffic light. Popping the bike into neutral she was stretch her arms, hands off the bars as she patiently waited for the light to chan…….. BOOM! She never even heard the howl of the brakes. Earth /sky. Earth /sky. Earth/sky… blackness. She awoke sometime later. Her body screamed into her brain. Pain. A lot of pain. She looked up into the EMT’s eyes and asked, “What happen, where am I?” It turns out that while Alexandra was waiting for the light to change a car was coming from behind at the speed limit of 45 mph. The sun, ever so bright and intrusive this time of the day, washed out the bike and her dull, somewhat lacking tail/brake light that is hard to pick up on a nice day. The woman in the Corolla didn’t see the motorcycle till a split second before.
BRIGHTER IS BETTER! According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are, on average, over 5,000 motorcycle fatalities each year. Many are one vehicle incidents – riders misjudging the severity of a curve, target fixation, and the like. Too many are the classic left turn. When a clueless driver whips a quick and unexpected left turn right into the path of an oncoming motorcyclist. The sobering fact is that riders are 27 times more likely to die in traffic crashes (per miles driven) than are the occupants of other passenger
vehicles. Just under 10% of these fatalities involved rear-end crashes; and when rear-end motorcycle accidents happen, they can be deadly. In the above story Alexandra survived, but was hospitalized for weeks and, although she would keep on riding, she took steps to make sure this incident would never repeat itself. She got herself in the habit of keeping an eye on the mirror while at stops and traffic lights. Her bike? It remains in first gear, with the clutch pulled in. If something was going to come up quickly behind her – this time, when she heard the screech of brakes behind here, she would be able to escape it. But, one of the easiest upgrades to her “At Stop Program” was the addition of more and far brighter brake lights. Being seen on the road is one of the keys to our survival. Recently Shira and I traveled to the southern part of Virginia – both of us one standard machines; Shira on her beloved Honda 919 and me riding the new Z. Along the way, Shira commented how the Z’s tail and brake light were a bit lacking in luminosity and size – especially compared to my GS. But there was a reason for that. My GS and her Suzuki VStrom both have an additional brake light from Twisted Throttle and Denali. When we returned, the first order of business was to have two Denali B6 Brake Lights shipped to Backroads Central. All of our machines are now so equipped. The B6 Brake Light has six ultra-bright LED lights fitted onto a strong aluminum bracket that easily mounts under your license plate. It works as a running light but when the brakes are applied the LED explodes with brightness. If you have a Can-Bus machine, like a BMW or KTM, the unit is easily plugged into Denali’s CanSmart adapter and can be set up to flash as well. Annoyingly noticeable – but, that’s the point, right? Another superb and different approach is the inView Brake light from Third Eye Design. This light attaches to the back of your helmet and inView and is a wireless helmet brake
