Rogue and I just got back from a mostly back roads trip to Tennessee, where we attended the West Tennessee Valley Rally. It’s a 4 day motorcycle event, in the western TN town of Morris Chapel. Shiloh Battlegrounds, Buford Pusser’s Home, Pickwick Lake/Dam, Tennessee River, Natchez Trace Parkway, and the Rattlesnake Saloon are all within a reasonable riding distance from the rally location, and give you a lot of options of things to do when you are out in BFE!
While we were there – we met up with Jim “Rebel” Henderson, a Florida transplant to TN. Rebel has been up to some good (this time!!!), and hooked up with MAFT-Motorcycle Awareness Foundation of Tennessee, about 3 years ago. He has been presenting their CSAL course to local high schools, colleges, technical schools, and just about anyone that will listen to the presentation they call – Campaign Save a Life, and invited Rogue and I to tag along to a presentation later that week.
We rode out with Rebel, his wife Chandra, and Captain Morgan/Steve on Thursday, August 21st to the Middleton High School in Middleton, TN, at the crack of dawn to make an 8 o’clock presentation by Rebel of Campaign Save A Life to their sophomore students. (Never mind that we had to be there by 915am for the first presentation, yes, that’s Rebel always on time!!! ) We were welcomed by the school administration/staff with open arms. They were really excited to have the program introduced to their sophomore students that day. There were two 45 minute sessions scheduled that morning. The first class had 13 students plus their Coach, and the second session included 10 students. Rebel spoke, in his deep thundering voice, about MAFT and their mission and how MAFT is made up of a group of volunteers that are dedicated to make the Tennessee roads safer for motorcyclists and motorists….and promote rider education. MAFT is also a 501c-3 non-profit, charitable organization.
He went on talking about their “4-4-blindspots” reminder to always look both ways twice before turning , check your blind spots..and turn your head, don’t just scan with your eyes. He spoke about keeping a 4 second cushion between the bumper of the vehicle you are driving, behind a motorcycle…..and not tailgating! His presentation focused on explaining lane position, the NO-Zone around tractor trailers, and focusing on being aware of motorcycles, all included in a power point presentation. The students were extremely receptive to this information, and related some of their own experiences or those from friends or family members during the interactive Q&A portion of the presentation. There was also a 14 minute video testimonial from people involved in motorcycle accidents, and how their life has been impacted by their injuries sustained. Some family members spoke of loved ones lost – an eye opening reminder to the students that this can happen to anyone – anytime-anywhere. How would they have felt if this happened to someone in their own family?
After the PowerPoint, Video, and Q&A, the students were taken out to the parking lot where the instructors motorcycles were the last part of the presentation – they spoke of the types of motorcycles, along with the types of people who rode them. They also discussed techniques drivers can use to see motorcyclists on the roadways. The program wrapped up with the school safety officer stopping by, and reminding the students it was time to head back to their next class. MAFT was booked by the school to come back in 6 month for the CSAL presentation – continuing the awareness campaign that hopefully will save not only one, but several lives of motorcyclists on the Tennessee highways and back roads.
CSAL was started in 2007 – as 46% of MC accidents in Tennessee involved other vehicles. They set out to educate the drivers of those vehicles – especially the High School students during their driver education curriculum. To date, MAFT has had over 10,000 students in Tennessee attend CSAL classes. Cindy Davidson oversaw the development of the presentation. She and her husband have had involvement in a serious accident involving violation of their right of way. CSAL was developed in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Safety for high school driver programs. In 2008, MAFT was presented with the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Safety Award. Their list of involvement and accolades is long and can be found at their website: http://www.maft.us/
“Shattered”, a Telly award winning awareness video that MAFT was involved in producing, is currently used by the US Navy and the US Air Force.
Watch the video here:
It really was a privilege to be involved with this presentation at Middleton High school – and hopefully something that we discussed that day will save a life or lives in the future!
For more information on MAFT or their CSAL presentation, please call 615-906-9915, or email maftinfo@aol.com
For western Tennessee MAFT/CSAL information – reach out to Rebel at 731-438-1024 or via email: jimrebel@yahoo.com
Ride safe n free
Peace,
Dmac
From the MAFT website:
MAFT. A non-profit charitable organization, dedicated to reducing the number of motorcycle accidents in TN, through driver education and public awareness of motorcycles on our roads. We achieve this through the sharing of knowledge, ideas, expertise, and resources of our members.
Did you know that over half of motorcycle crashes are caused by regular motorists who were not paying attention or violated the motorcycle’s right of way? Most motorcycle accidents are preventable.
Unfortunately, many people have been injured and killed in accidents that might not have happened at all if they had been seen by the driver of the other vehicle. MAFT seeks to educate the public to make our roads safe for everyone, regardless of the type of vehicle they choose to drive. Whether you are on a sport bike, touring bike or a cruiser; a new rider or have been riding all of your life…all motorcyclist know that when it comes to the road motorcycle awareness is your responsibility! Motorcycle awareness isn’t “somebody else’s problem” and it’s not something that can be solved by a government program. That’s why riders like you founded MAFT…to promote motorcycle awareness across Tennessee.
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