News

Safety campaign revs up for second round

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Motorcycles are normally in the minority on the road, and that's part of the danger, said Donn Johnson, senior motorcycle safety instructor at Robins.

When motorists check for other vehicles, Mr. Johnson said, they are typically looking for a car or truck, not a motorcycle. That's why, he said, motorists often look too quickly and run into a biker, not noticing the smaller vehicle.

But next week motorcyclists will be in a very noticeable majority for a while on the streets both inside the base and out. The second See Me, Save Me Motorcycle Safety Awareness Ride will start rolling at 10 a.m. Thursday and is expected to draw hundreds of riders.

After a tour through the base under escort by Security Forces, the bikes will head out Russell Parkway Gate into the city for a ride down Russell Parkway, then to Houston Lake Road, then to Watson Boulevard and ending at the Museum of Aviation.

The purpose of the ride is to promote motorcycle awareness to other motorists, Mr. Johnson said, so that they might make an extra effort to look for motorcycles on the highway.

'We want to alert car drivers and truck drivers that motorcycles are out there and we are small," he said. "They have to learn to look twice."

In the first See Me, Save Me Ride held in August, 305 bikers took part. This year Mr. Johnson is expecting over 400 riders. The second ride is being planned later this year, Mr. Johnson said, to continue to reinforce to motorists that a lot of motorcyclists are on the road. That, he said, is why it's important to have a good turnout for the ride. 

With the rising price of gas last year, the base saw a sharp increase in the number of people riding motorcycles. Mr. Johnson said they had to double the amount of safety classes given, which is a requirement to be able to ride a motorcycle on a base. A drop in gas prices has not diminished the growth of riders.

"We see that doubling again," he said. "We see another big influx of folks getting on bikes."

Anyone who does not have base access can gather at the Museum of Aviation and join the ride as it exits the Russell Parkway gate. Those who are on base are asked to gather starting at 9 a.m. at the Motorcycle Safety Range, which is in the PAVE PAWS parking lot at the end of Marchbanks Drive. There will be a pre-season safety briefing at 9:30 a.m. followed by a safety briefing for the ride itself at 9:45 a.m.

At the end of the ride at the museum there will be a lunchtime cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs.