Be a Real Friend. Save a Life
Remember when we were able to stop at biker bars on poker runs and have a
drink at every stop? I guess looking back now, we were lucky. Well, some of
us were. The riders reading this article were lucky. The one's we buried were
not lucky.
These days we have a choice. We can self-regulate our impaired riding, or
we can leave it up to our government to regulate us. I don't know about you,
but I just don't trust our elected officials to regulate us. I'd rather do
we do it ourselves. That is our choice. Unfortunately, recent statistics show
that 50% of fatally injured motorcycle riders have alcohol in their blood.
It's a fact. Alcohol affects our riding skills. Alcohol is absorbed into the
bloodstream a few minutes after drinking it and it hits the brain a couple
of minutes later. Drinking while taking certain medications can accelerate
the alcohol's impact. We all know that the best situation is to not drink
while riding. But if you do have a drink, be sure to understand that once
you start, your ability to say "NO" or "NO MORE" is weaker.
Our relatives and friends all remind us that riding a motorcycle is dangerous.
We all know we are taking a risk. Mixing alcohol and motorcycling is a risk
we don't have to take. Don't be afraid to arrange a safe ride home for a brother
or sister. You are better off risking a "friendship" than losing
a "friend".
The motorcyclists rights organizations (MROs) in your state are actively campaigning
to reduce the number of fatalities due to impaired riding. They know that
unless we police ourselves, the government will enact additional laws that
will restrict our riding freedoms. Please consider joining an MRO to help
support this position.
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