I posted this way back when, but seeing there are so many new riders on the roadways, I thought it apropos to bring it back! Safety is NO JOKE, and all of us need to practice our skills and practice them again!! Ride Safely, everyone!!

Being a huge fan of David Hough’s Proficient Motorcycling

and More Proficient Motorcycling,

I am always thrilled to read his articles that appear in different publications. An acquaintance on one of my motorcycle forums recently posted a link to a Soundrider a northwest rider site, posting a monthly article by David Hough.

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It was only one year ago, that my friend Tyler Risk was hurt by a semi. It make the awareness of Truckers that much more of a reality for all of us, so when I found this article from 2008, I felt the need to reprint it. Here for all, BEWARE OF BIG RIGS!!

Don’t Mess With Truckers
If you’re a biker, you know that trucks can be your mortal enemies. Semis, pickups flatbeds – it doesn’t seem to matter. It’s just the mechanics of the things; they’re so long and wide, they can’t see and react to smaller and faster motorcyclists that easily. We got hold of a couple of informative bulletins written with the everyday rider in mind.One is a short quiz testing your knowledge of on-the-road truck awareness and the other is a set of safety guidelines for motorists, compiled by the American Trucking Associations (who had a small demonstration at Americade this year).

Check out the helpful (if somewhat overlapping) information in the following releases:

Many drivers are often confused about how to safely share the road with trucks. 70 to 75 percent of all truck-related auto fatalities are caused by car drivers, according to AAA and the Department of Transportation. Safe highway merging and stopping distances are essential for highway driving. To quiz your knowledge on truck safety, consider the following questions.
Where is the largest blind spot on a large truck?
The right side of the truck. If possible, avoid passing a truck on the right side.
True or False: Big trucks have more tires and larger brakes so they can stop faster than smaller vehicles.
False. It takes a loaded truck traveling 60 mph the length of a football field to come to a stop.
How many lives could be saved by staying out of trucks’ blind spots?
Approximately 1,300 lives per year in the United States are lost in crashes where vehicles are in a truck’s blind spot. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 35 percent of all fatal accidents with large trucks occur in blind spots.
What is a safe traveling distance for a car when following a truck on the highway?: Stay 20 car lengths behind the truck so you have time to react to any changes in the road ahead including debris or accidents. Keep the trucks’ mirrors in your sight at all times.

The shaded yellow areas are blind spots.

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Once again my friend, AtlasRider, has posted another of his important motorcycle safety videos, ATGATT (all the gear all the time). We hear complaints all the time that it takes too long to gear up or it’s too hot, or it’s too cold, or it’s just too much of a hassle. There is also, the, I’m going to work and I have to have work clothes for the office. There is any number of excuses, but there is absolutely no excuse you can offer your skin, for the graphs it will need without proper gear. Really…I am not kidding and neither is AtlasRider!