Accident Scene Bystander Assistance Class

By Chere Martin, Community Liaison for Rider Justice

There is absolutely no question that bikers are getting injured in Colorado at alarming rates. Certainly, distracted driving by car drivers on the road is one big reason for the disastrous statistics, but no matter the reason for the wreck, the result is the same: A biker is down and probably seriously injured.

Rider Justice is combating the safety problems bikers face in multiple ways, including working at the legislative level to create safer Colorado roads. (See Scott O’Sullivan’s article about how we are teaming up with Coloradans Organized for Responsible Driving in the next legislative session.) Additionally, we organize and host classes that support rider safety through the Road Guardians Accident Scene Management (ASM) program.

Motorcycle Accident Scene Management

In October, Rider Justice hosted its third Accident Scene Management class. We partnered with BikerDown to offer a Bystander Assistance (Basic – 100 level) class to Colorado bikers. The ASM professionals have trained over 35,000 riders across the U.S. and are the largest motorcycle trauma training organization in the world. Their goal is to “enhance the survival rate and reduce severity of injuries for the injured riders of all motorized vehicles.”

October 27th Class

Laurie Montoya, BikerDown Founder, brought us all breakfast to keep the energy high throughout morning. She was able to share how she works with injured riders through her non-profit and how important she feels these ASM classes are for riders.

“I hope all riders will take advantage of these Accident Scene Management classes and learn the basic skills to render aid in the event of a motorcycle accident,” Montoya said to the group.

I took the class along with 13 other people, including Scott O’Sullivan, founder of Rider Justice.

“Riding a motorcycle with your friends and family is an amazing experience,” says Scott. “And one way to make sure everyone is safer is to take these ASM classes. In the event, God forbid, you come across a collision or someone in your group goes down, you’ll know what to do.”

Don Enninga, our local ASM instructor, taught the class. Don’s experience as an EMT certainly came in handy as he navigated our questions throughout the day.

Hands-on Practice

Without question, the hands-on parts of the class were incredibly eye-opening and useful. It doesn’t take much imagination to recognize the likelihood that a biker going down may end up lying in a dangerous roadway, so learning how to move someone safely was fantastic. Other hands-on sections included how to support a neck properly while removing a helmet (as well as when to remove a helmet), how to administer rescue breathing (not a complete CPR course), how to apply a pressure dressing, and even some practice with tourniquets.

The only bad news from the weekend was the storm that was rolling in on Sunday. We had many discussions throughout the day Saturday about the weather forecast and finally decided that it was safest for everyone involved to cancel the Sunday Advanced ASM (300 level) class. (We had some folks driving in all the way from Colorado Springs!) We have selected a new date – January 11 – and we are in the process of securing a location. Stay tuned for announcements which will be shared on our Facebook page.

Future Motorcycle Accident Classes

We are committed to holding many more important educational classes for riders; we believe it is one of the most impactful ways that we can support the greater riding community. Normally these classes are $85. With our sponsorship, participants only paid $35 per person and $10 of each registration went to support BikerDown’s accident fund. Follow us on Facebook for future class announcements.