Introduction
To Our Racing Safety Program
by
Dr. Medsker |
As you will learn when you take our safety awareness and counter
measures program - safety involves every rider. But more
importantly, the safe and prudent operation of your motorcycle
is your responsibility. Learning to ride in a safe and
prudent manor is not an option in today's market place of transportation
but a requirement. Creating habits and behaviors that
automatically happen and occur, with hesitation, to avoid hazards
or problems are the needed and necessary skill levels to employ.
With their application you lower the risk factor probabilities
of becoming involved in unwanted and unnecessary problems.
I am a Chiropractor who, for the past 18 years, has followed
the raci41 circuit all over the USA and Europe. I have treated
all degrees of riding and raci41 injuries. These same injures
continue to repeat themselves, over and over again. This tells
us that we are not learning from our mistakes. Why is that?
For these individuals I suggest that it's time to start "Racing
Smarter". I personally feel that taking care of the
rider is more important than taking care of the bike. As an
example if you spend 10 hours working on your bike for the race,
I feel you should spend at least 10 hours readying your body
for that same race, as well.
I have repeatedly witnessed that those riders who received Chiropractic
care before raci41 not only performed better but also experience
fewer accidents and injuries than those who do not.
In lieu of this fact, I created a section in the library called
"Rider Problem". This "Self-Help"
recipe program is for the understanding, treatment and rehabilitation
for almost all of the injuries I have witnessed on the circuit.
I have also created another section in the library called "Health
Care". This is a self-help program set aside so
that responsible riders can take, not only corrective actions
but preventive ones, as well. I have found that most repeatable
accidents and injuries can be prevented from happening, even
for the first time if the rider is mindful of what he or she
reads and applies. Both programs are located on the menu in
our library. At least I feel that this is a start in the right
direction for the concerned riders and their families.
In the final analysis, it is the rider's responsibility for
his or her own safety. The best we can do is sharing this information
with them and through education bettering ourselves, our raci41
families and our sport. I keep thinking that someone will come
along and put a stop to all of those unnecessary repeatable
accidents and injuries, but in my over 15 years of experience,
no one has yet.
If you think that it is the responsibility of the AMA, FIM or
other regulatory agencies, you are wrong. If you think that
it is the responsibility of the promoters or track owners, again
you are wrong. It is the responsibility of the riders, their
families and their race team members. In short, it is the responsibility
of all of us.
In 1997, at one time during the USA's Supercross 15 race series,
over one half of the top 20 USA riders were out with injuries.
Is this problem "Rider Error", "Track Design",
"Racing Fatigue Over Stress", etc.? Again in 1998
Supercross series we are seeing the same types of problems surface
again. Why are these problems repeating themselves? Why can't
we learn from our mistakes? What could we do as a safety awareness
group?
I strongly recommend that every country join in and together
create a Motocross/Supercross Safety Board that would:
1. Publish a rider/racer safety manual.
2. Require all riders and racers to complete a comprehensive
safety awareness and countermeasures certification program for
off-road raci41 like the program currently presented by the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) for street bikes and WERA
and AHRMA for motorcycle road raci41.
3. Require a safety certification before any rider can be licensed
to race.
Did you know that AMA motocross is one of the few raci41 organizations
that does not require a safety awareness program to licensing
the rider?
This safety board would gather and collect, evaluate and publish
all raci41 accident and injury information (i.e. rider fall
cards). It would compile unsafe track obstacles and establish
safe jump launch and landing angles, then supply this information
to insurance companies, regulatory agencies, promoters and riders
and racers. It would require that all riders involved in raci41
show proof of passing a comprehensive safety awareness and countermeasures
program examination before acquiring a license. And proof of
annual up-dating certification for the same.
In aviation, the federal aviation agency (FAA) requires all
commercial airline pilots to attend and pass a school like this,
once a year. Command pilots are required to take and pass this
schooling, twice a year.
Like the FAA's program, I know that we can lower our accident
and injury percentages from over the 90% mark to well inside
the 10% level with the incorporation of a yearly re-certification
program.
I am saying we don't have to keep repeating this endless loop
of needless re-occurring rider accident and injury. We can make
a difference. We can change the outcomes. We can lower the accident
and injury risk factors found in our sport. Together, we can
make our sport a lot safer. If we join together, share information,
educate our riders and racers, we will greatly lower their accident
and injury percentages. For this reason, I am sharing my "Safety
Awareness And Countermeasure Program", as well as, my two
and four-year professional raci41 college programs with all
riders, racers, their families, their race team members and
those in the off-road community who feel as I do.
Our Safety Awareness And Countermeasure Program makes the most
aggressive strides ever taken in the prevention and elimination
of accidents and injuries in our profession. For the last three
years of its existence, it has performed. Data collected shows
that the awareness and skill levels taught in our program have
reduced accidents and injuries by a conservative factor of 25
to 1 (only 4 instead of 100 after taking our safety class).
That is to say, riders were falling, having accidents and getting
hurt twenty five times more often before the program than following
it. Its simplistic countermeasures are the best collection of
rider assembled immediate actions anywhere in the world today.
We hope that you will enjoy and benefit greatly from its presentation,
as well as, share it with your friends and other riders. Join
us, and together we can make our sport safer. Thank you for
taking the time to read our safety introduction. Enjoy our safety
program, and help us make riding and raci41 off-road motorcycles
safer. Next let's discuss how safety training will pay you rather
than cost you. |
| Safety Training
Pays! |
| This
article was written in 1999. And each year after this
year this percentage of money spent to fix and repair your bike
will increase. Not to mention the increase in cost factor
for any medical care needed or necessary. |
Are You Interested In A $2000.00 Sponsorship This Year? Are
you interested in having a little extra money this year to spend
on your racing? Moreover, if I told you an easy way to
do this would you be interested?
But before I share with you this easy method let's finding out
just how much money you have spent over the last year for new
bike parts, raci41 gear, and medical services because of unwanted
and unnecessary accidents, falls, and rider injuries.
Let us list the most common replacement parts due to accidents
and falls. They include:
Bike Part - Est.
Cost/Item to Replace – Number Per Year
1. Handle bars - Regular (7/8") - 85.00 & up -
(13sets)
2. Handle bars - big (1 1/8") - 65.00 (2sets)
3. Handle bar grips - Regular - 7.00 (6
pair)
4. Front Fender -20.00 & up - (2 ea,)
5. Rear Fender - 20.00 - (2 ea.)
6. Radiator - 130.00 - (2 ea.)
7. Radiator Shroud - 35.00 & up (3 ea.)
8. Control level - 12.00 & up - (4 ea.)
9. Sub Frame -120.00 - (1 ea.)
10. Muffler - 80.00 - (1 ea.)
11. Pipe -150.00 - (1 ea.)
12. Seat Cover - 50.00 - (1 ea.)
13. Seat Foam - 50.00 - (1 ea.)
Cost Example:
From the above list let us calculate the estimated average cost
per year from
the estimated average replacement per year column.
Bike Part - Est. Cost/Item to Replace –
Number Per Year
1. $ 1105.00
2. $ 130
3. $ 42.00
4. $ 40.00
5. $ 40.00
6. $ 260.00
7. $ 105.00
8. $ 48.00
9. $ 120.00
10. $ 80.00
11. $ 150.00
12. $ 50.00
13. $ 50.00
Total Cost Per Year $2220.00
Next, allow me to share with you that our safety program has
already greatly lowered this yearly cost factor for many.
Over the last three years, our program has reduced accidents,
falls, and rider injuries of a factor of 25:1. What this means
is that for every 100 accidents, falls, or rider injuries you
were having before our 2-day safety awareness and countermeasures
program, would be reduced to four. Yes, I know that these
numbers are very impressive. However, another impressive factor
about the program is that is saves you about $2000.00 every
year afterwards?
From the chart above, let us divide $2220.00 by the safety reduction
factor of 25 and get $88.80. The $88.80 is your new estimated
yearly cost for replacement parts following the completion of
our safety program. This is an annual savings of $2000.00
every year. If you race for 10 more years, your estimated
savings is approximately $20,000.00. And remember these figures
do not consider the replacement of raci41 gear, helmets, or
medical expenses due to injuries. Do you think you might
be interested in a safety program now?
Safety is everyone's responsibility. But until everyone
starts thinking this way may I suggest that you consider taking
the actions of "Protecting Yourself" and "Saving
Yourself" by taking a safety program like ours that reduces
your "Risk Factors".
The safety program in the library of our motocross raci41 college
web site is free to those who are interested. It only
requires you to study and practice its principals. In
the centerfold of this issue, you will find our raci41 college
poster #7 "Racing Safety Awareness" and our recommended
countermeasures.
Now I can sit here and tell you that motocross accidents and
rider injuries are on the rise especially over the past few
years but you may think you are immune to them and so this topic
does not effect you. But nothing could be further from
the truth. Because it does affect you, whether you are
a new comer to our sport or a veteran pro.
Remember
- Racing Smarter Does Not Cost, It Pays! |
|
