Time to raise a Little Awareness

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If you want to drive home the point you have to hit cagers where they live...the 401.

What I propose is this. Two Huge Group Rides

Group A heads East bound 401 starting somewhere in Mississauga
Group B heads West bound 401 starting somewhere in Pickering

Each group would enter the freeway doing 100kph to start in staggered formation. Once the last rider enters the freeway he would changes lanes and speed up to catch the lead rider then hold his position. The second last rider would do the same with the next open lane and so on and so on until there are motorcycles in every lane on the 401, 10 deep! Once we have claimed the express lanes of the freeway in the name of bikes, we then slow are speed to 50 kph until we meet with the second group of bikes.

Once both groups meet somewhere in the middle of Toronto, we stop, shut off our engines, get off the bike and observer a moment of silence for the fallen.

After, "The Moment", exit to the nearest bar.

Personally I think this would be a great way to kick off each riding season. Something like this would need police permission and assistance to get the line of bikes set up safely, but totally do-able.
 
Araqiels said:
A mass rally, where we all get together and ride our loud motorcycles through the streets of Toronto? Ironically, I'm sure we'd be more of a danger to ourselves.

What exactly are we trying to accomplish? What firm goal is there? Or is this just like another group ride-along, except now we're riding because the carelessness of other drivers towards motorcycles has increased more so than at any other point in riding history?

There will always be an organ donor on the highway, or on any road, that rides his bike so carelessly, and dangerously, that it agitates the countless other riders on the road so thoroughly that they couldn't care less what happens to him, or any other motorcycle rider.

I wonder if there are any car enthusists who rally against motorcycles, or trucks, for that matter? Or people who want to ride their bicycle safetly without being struck by other vehicles, open doors, or city buses?

I think in any rider training, the emphasis is on not trusting other people on the road. They stress be alert, and always prepared. I don't think there is any other better training than preparing the rider him/herself to deal with other riders on the road. Trying to alter the mindstate of everyone else to be more careful of YOU because you are more vulnerable is going to take a great deal of effort, which I don't see as being successful.

I think I'm going to use that time to put more riding and road experience under my belt. Not that I don't wish any of you the best, this just seems like someone came up with an idea, posted it online in hopes that someone else will pick up on it and share in the work, and in a week this thread will be dead.

Prove me wrong, as I'd like to remain even more safe. In the meantime, I'll count on myself to do that.
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Everytime i ride, I am fully aware that my safety is mostly in my hands, or rather in my attitude. But take a moment to read up on the accident that claimed Liz Metcalfe this past Saturday and you will understand that there was not much she could have done to avoid it. There are numerous other incidents too, where the rider did everything right but still ended up being an 'organ donor'.

Is there something that may change in the mindset of people sharing the road after the rally? At least a cross section of folks, for sure YES.
 
killerkeith said:
If you want to drive home the point you have to hit cagers where they live...the 401.

What I propose is this. Two Huge Group Rides

Group A heads East bound 401 starting somewhere in Mississauga
Group B heads West bound 401 starting somewhere in Pickering

Each group would enter the freeway doing 100kph to start in staggered formation. Once the last rider enters the freeway he would changes lanes and speed up to catch the lead rider then hold his position. The second last rider would do the same with the next open lane and so on and so on until there are motorcycles in every lane on the 401, 10 deep! Once we have claimed the express lanes of the freeway in the name of bikes, we then slow are speed to 50 kph until we meet with the second group of bikes.

Once both groups meet somewhere in the middle of Toronto, we stop, shut off our engines, get off the bike and observer a moment of silence for the fallen.

After, "The Moment", exit to the nearest bar.

Personally I think this would be a great way to kick off each riding season. Something like this would need police permission and assistance to get the line of bikes set up safely, but totally do-able.
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Wow.. Keith .. we will essentially be crippling traffic by slowing down and stopping. I was hoping to do something that makes more people think rather than something that will get us the wrong type of attention. And hindering traffic on the highway will not be supported by our forces either.

But i like the elaborateness of the idea .. I have spoken to a few folks today and I shall post my ideas tonight.

Lets see how best we can do this and we will surely observe that moment of silence.
 
I did the Road Awareness Rally a couple years ago, it was effective in raising awareness...to a point. The problem is in the temporary nature of it.

I have always said and firmly believe that a massive ad campaign and media attention are what's needed, as well as municipal government involvement (signage) ...then, drivers need to be educated.

The driving courses and G tests need to have motorcycle awareness added, however, you also need to reach those people that have been driving for 20/30/40+ years and remind them...or flat out educate them!

It should be like in Europe where there are bike awareness ads on TV and in other media, it should be like Arizona where I saw street signs posted everywhere saying "Watch for bikes". Pictures of sports bikes and cruisers on the signs! It has to be a constant barrage or people let it slide and forget...Then maybe things will start to change.
 
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Awesome points, summing them up :

** A rally, with media coverage and a lot of participation should get people talking
** Making this an annual event at the start of the riding season makes most sense
** A high visibility sticker or a different insignia can spread awareness to the cause
** Social Media - Yess !!
** Getting the support of forces on two wheels will add a lot of credibility
** As long as this is well planned, well organized and set up on a positive note we should create a positive impact


And the best part, I already have 11 peeps ready to ride. Thanks everyone !
 
I still believe, we can make it big without hindering traffic and making life difficult for anyone Keith. Glad to kow you are in the media. We will need to reach out to them to get a lot of coverage on this issue.
:)
 
This is what I could come up with so far: "Ride for Road Safety Awareness Day - 2011"

-- Plan the event on a Sunday in July. Main aim would be to raise awareness and create media visibility for the high death toll this season and the past years
-- The ride can end with presenting a petition to 'Minister of Transportation' requesting for the following measures to be implemented:

****** Introduce mandatory information and test questions for All classes of Licensing on Sharing the roads with motorcycles.
****** Display early warning road signs for riders around areas which have experienced multiple motorcycle accidents
****** Upgrade the curriculum of Driver Training to specifically prompt the driving students to 'be aware of possible motorcycles' as part of driving instruction


-- On the day of the event, we can organize Group Rides out from different parts of the city.
-- All groups meet at a specified location and we observe silence for all the recent riders we have lost
-- We also meet with media and use this as a platform to appeal to all drivers to make the roads safer.
-- We then ride out to Queen's park along a designated route and present the petition to the Minister and we ride out, through a designated route again, back to our starting point.
-- The groups split and ride back out again


In the days leading up to this, we can also work on setting up a website with all necessary videos explaining the most possible chances when riders crash and also the ways to avoid this. Also, a Facebook campaign and online pledge form that drivers, riders who visit the site can fill expressing their support and so on.



Here are some of the things we will have to work out :

 The date for the event, which should not clash with any major events in the city
 Group Ride announcements, logistics etc.
 Media release and press release
 Interviews from accident survivors for the website
 Petition – wording, formalities etc.
 Location for the meet up, city permits, police clearance if any
 Communication with the Ministry for a representative to receive our petition ( I don’t think they operate on the weekends )
 Any more that I must have not thought about ??


We will need to form a committee of riders to delegate the tasks. I have emailed some members on here, esp. Shaun who has some experience organizing something in the past. Once we have a proper action plan, we can plan a meetup at a coffee joint and map out the next steps.
 
killerkeith said:
If you want to drive home the point you have to hit cagers where they live...the 401.

What I propose is this. Two Huge Group Rides

Group A heads East bound 401 starting somewhere in Mississauga
Group B heads West bound 401 starting somewhere in Pickering

Each group would enter the freeway doing 100kph to start in staggered formation. Once the last rider enters the freeway he would changes lanes and speed up to catch the lead rider then hold his position. The second last rider would do the same with the next open lane and so on and so on until there are motorcycles in every lane on the 401, 10 deep! Once we have claimed the express lanes of the freeway in the name of bikes, we then slow are speed to 50 kph until we meet with the second group of bikes.

Once both groups meet somewhere in the middle of Toronto, we stop, shut off our engines, get off the bike and observer a moment of silence for the fallen.

After, "The Moment", exit to the nearest bar.

Personally I think this would be a great way to kick off each riding season. Something like this would need police permission and assistance to get the line of bikes set up safely, but totally do-able.
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First, are you thinking of stopping in the middle of Toronto on the highway? :confused:
Second, slowing the speed to 50kph on the highway would cause chaos and even some accidents.
 
We should do this, We can have yellow stickers printed for the bikes / helmets saying "DO YOU SEE ME NOW"; this would also make a good name for the rally.
 
Are you looking for good attention, or bad attention?

If you're trying to get someone else to change, good attention works better.
 
If you want to help raise awareness and pay tribute to those who have fallen because of careless driving, why not treat the ride more like a huge funeral procession to highlight the likely outcome of a collision between cars and bikes. Riders could have have pictures of as many fallen riders as flags on the backs of their bikes during the ride.

At the end of the ride post the pictures on a huge wall somewhere prominent for people to see with the words "Fallen" or "Killed" above their heads and a small caption of how/when they fell under them.

I think this would be a lot more visual for the average individual and something the media would be able to "sensationalize" easier.
 
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Cougra said:
If you want to help raise awareness and pay tribute to those who have fallen because of careless driving, why not treat the ride more like a huge funeral procession to highlight the likely outcome of a collision between cars and bikes. Riders could have have pictures of as many fallen riders as flags on the backs of their bikes during the ride.

At the end of the ride post the pictures on a huge wall somewhere prominent for people to see with the words "Fallen" or "Killed" above their heads and a small caption of how/when they fell under them.

I think this would be a lot more visual for the average individual and something the media would be able to "sensationalize" easier.
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Not too sure if the families would like to see the pictures of their loved ones and the gory details displayed anywhere. But yes, the tone of the ride will be solemn, not fun. And the press release and the media interviews will have more focus on why we are doing this rather than the ride itself.
 
rideitlikeyoustoleit said:
First, are you thinking of stopping in the middle of Toronto on the highway? :confused:
Second, slowing the speed to 50kph on the highway would cause chaos and even some accidents.
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I think you're missing the point of a protest/demonstration. This isn't a charity ride for Dad. This is to make a stone cold point.
 
Cougra said:
If you want to help raise awareness and pay tribute to those who have fallen because of careless driving, why not treat the ride more like a huge funeral procession to highlight the likely outcome of a collision between cars and bikes. Riders could have have pictures of as many fallen riders as flags on the backs of their bikes during the ride.

At the end of the ride post the pictures on a huge wall somewhere prominent for people to see with the words "Fallen" or "Killed" above their heads and a small caption of how/when they fell under them.

I think this would be a lot more visual for the average individual and something the media would be able to "sensationalize" easier.
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Excellent idea.
 
I kind of like the idea of doing this at the beginning of every riding season.

ALso we should be aware, it would be completely and utterly self-defeating if anybody lowsided or something during this rally!!
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