CDOT posted an article on the 18th of this month giving some year-to-date totals and the one that popped out to me was that our community has lost 100 motorcycle riders and is on track to surpass last year’s number of 103 fatalities.
As many of you know I am also the President and Founder of BikerDown Foundation and help injured motorcycle riders after an accident and/or fatality. I decided this month to take this forum on CRN to try again to ask this motorcycle community to put in place some offensive measures, so that in the event of a motorcycle accident or fatality, you have the services you need to recover.
For years, CRN and BikerDown have put into this publication articles about increasing your motorcycle insurance to include at least 250k under or un-insured motorist coverage. This coverage is absolutely the MOST IMPORTANT item you can have on your bike when you ride.
Due to COVID-19, loss of work or just being down right irresponsible, at least 50% of all drivers out there are now driving without vehicle insurance. So when (and I mean when) that driver hits you, if YOU do not have under or un-insured motorist coverage, you are literally screwed. This will leave all the medical costs, and out-of-pocket recovery expenses UP TO YOU!
If you have full coverage on your bike, please understand THAT ONLY COVER YOUR BIKE (maybe). Full coverage does not mean your medical bills will be covered; it does not mean that your lost wages will be covered. It means that you might get enough from the insurance company to fix or pay off your loan on your bike.
As the Biker Advocate for BikerDown who calls these riders or family members daily to see how BD can help them, one of the questions I routinely ask is what type of insurance did the driver have? And this week alone 3 injured riders family member told me that the driver had NO LICENSE and NO INSURANCE.
This publication has attempted since the inception to gently nudge riders thru advertising and articles to educate and give you the resources to make changes to your personal bike coverages, but I feel WE are LOSING the battle out in this biker community. IT IS NOW TIME, TO BEG YOU and HOUND YOU to call your insurance company today and add at least $250k under or un-insured motorist.
There is still a lot of riding in 2020, and before you get on your bike in October, please MAKE A PLEDGE TODAY, to at least call your bike or vehicle insurance and CONFIRM, VERIFY and have them send you something that shows that you have under or un-insured motorist coverage.
If you do not want to do it for YOU, please do it for your FAMILY, your wife/husband, your children, your mother, or father and EVEN YOUR FRIENDS. These are the people who will be the ones struggling to keep you going while you are recovering in the hospital.
Please forgive me this month for such an abrasive Letter from the Publisher, but we are in an epidemic of motorcycle injuries and fatalities and THE TIME IS NOW to at least have the coverages you need, so you can recover in peace.
As always enjoy the ride, let us know what we can do better and BE SAFE OUT THERE
~ Laurie Montoya, Publisher
