Passes & Canyons Blog

I was reading the Spokesman, ABATE of Colorado’s bimonthly newsletter the other day and they had this piece provided to them by Scott O’Sullivan, who is involved with Rider Justice and the O’Sullivan Law Firm. I thought it was pretty good and worth passing along, so here it is. It’s a tiny bit self-serving in that it is a promotion for the O’Sullivan Law Firm and Rider Justice, but hey, no big deal. I’m not endorsing them; I don’t know anything about them. I just thought it was good information.

Top 5 Ways Insurance Companies Cheat You

When you’re injured in a motorcycle crash, it’s stressful enough dealing with the mounting medical bills and the long healing process. Even worse, all the red tape and hoops you have to jump through when dealing with insurance claims just adds insult to injury. But it’s important to make sure you receive all the money you’re entitled to. After years of responsibly paying your insurance premiums, you deserve to recoup every dollar from your coverage! However, I’m sorry to say that insurance companies are not on your side. Here are the Top 5 Ways Insurance Companies Cheat You.

After a Crash Asking for a Recorded Statement
Most everyone is familiar with the Miranda Warning that says, “Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.” This is also true for recorded statements that an insurance company may request from you. Insurance adjusters will twist your words to make you look bad, thus making you ineligible for your claim. If an insurance company representative is asking you to make a recorded statement, hang up and call a motorcycle accident attorney immediately.

Pushing for a Quick Settlement
Dealing with insurance companies and legal battles can be an extremely stressful experience. But no matter how badly you want to wash your hands of the entire thing and just get it over with, you should never fall into the trap of accepting a quick settlement from your insurance company. Insurance companies use this tactic because it saves them a lot of time and money, and it almost always guarantees that motorcycle accident victims accept a much smaller amount before fully understanding how much their claim is really worth.

Asking for a Signed Medical Release
If you’re in a motorcycle accident, an insurance adjuster may try to convince you that you absolutely have to sign medical release forms, giving them access to all of your medical records, both past and present. Why is this bad? I have seen insurance companies go far back into a victim’s health history and deny payment based on previous experiences that have nothing to do with the accident and the victim’s current condition.

Causing Confusion
When it comes to the average individual, insurance contracts are confusing. Insurance companies often rely on a victim’s confusion (and the many other issues they may be facing, such as medical concerns) to push inadequate settlements or even to get victims to sign away their own rights! When filing a claim, sign NOTHING until you hire an attorney to go over the documents so you know your rights.

Refusing to Renew
Although you shouldn’t rush the process and settle right away, be sure not to waste too much time filing a claim if you decide that’s the route you want to take, especially if you’ve already contacted your insurance company with an inquiry. Many insurance companies will drop your coverage and refuse to renew a policy if they get a whiff that you may be considering a claim.

Do you have specific questions about Colorado state laws when it comes to dealing with insurance companies after a motorcycle accident? Call or text us at (303) 388-5304.

Biker Quote for Today

Look twice for motorcycles: someone’s whole world is on that bike.

OK, this is starting to demand more seriousness. I wrote about how the RMMRC has been doing some rides that were “coronavirus conscious” but I’ve gotten shot down.

First my wife, Judy, pointed me to the state’s website where it details the particulars of the overall order to stay home. It specifically says that pleasure driving or motorcycle riding is prohibited. Oh rats. I mean, it seems like riding a motorcycle is a great thing to do because you don’t come in contact with other people and you’re wearing a helmet and gloves.

Judy replied that yes, but suppose you got into a crash. You would then go to an already overloaded emergency room and use resources that could otherwise be used combating the virus. OK, that has never happened to me in all my years of riding but it could happen today–no one ever knows when that crash will happen.

Then I sat down at the computer to put something together for the blog and I had a comment on my post about that RMMRC ride, from Brook Reams. He basically said the same thing Judy said:

So, if anyone has an accident and goes to the emergency room, they are not only absorbing scarce ER people/time/space/equipment that is needed to treat Coronavirus patients, the person is going to be in a place with a high opportunity for exposure to the virus.

From that perspective, these rides are not “Coronavirus conscious,” they are selfish.

OK, I get it. As I said in my reply to Brook, oh well, it seemed like a good idea.

I had also been getting emails from ABATE members about riding being a no-no. So the word is spreading. There was another RMMRC ride set for Sunday and I was torn about going on it but decided not to. I kept checking back to see if it was canceled but apparently not.

It’s not like we haven’t been taking this isolation thing seriously. Judy has only left the house in the last couple weeks to go bicycle riding. I have only left the house to go to the grocery store and to ride my motorcycles and the bicycle. We haven’t seen our grandson in three weeks and that’s really killing us–we’re used to keeping him two days a week while Mom is at work.

So OK, just hunker down and get through this. One thing though: we are low or out of a number of things we typically get at Costco. I have stayed away from there so far but was thinking about heading over sometime soon. I have huge bags on my V-Strom, and we don’t need anything bulky like toilet paper. When I finally go to Costco I’m going on the V-Strom.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you spend more time polishing your bike than caressing your woman.

Continuing my recent series of scheduling screw-ups, I got it wrong on the Dart Run.

The Dart Run, I should explain, is a fundraising poker run put on each year by my own District 17 of ABATE of Colorado. I was prepared to be a volunteer working one of the stops on the run but they had all that pretty well settled so I figured I would do the run. That way I would at least contribute monetarily, plus I was intrigued at the whole idea of this variety of thrown/shot/whatever ways of selecting your card.

Those ways include a blow dart, ninja stars, bow and arrow, and I’m not sure what else. It sounded like fun.

Because I was not working the event I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the particulars. So Saturday when I wanted to know the schedule I went to the ABATE website and to the calendar. The event listing said 12 a.m., which I know is equivalent to midnight, but I also know not everyone is clear on whether noon is 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. I thought it a little odd to start a poker run at noon but I figured whoever put the event up on the calendar had made a mistake and really meant 12 p.m.–noon.

I showed up at The Shack, the starting and ending point at noon and there was not one bike in sight. I went in and asked and was told, “Oh yeah, they all left at 9:30.” OK. And I didn’t know the route but the waitress/bartender told me some place in the hills, then Wrigley’s and then the Rock Rest and then back to The Shack.

Now, The Shack is at the corner of Broadway and Mineral so I just headed west on Mineral, which turned out to be a road I may never have ridden that far on before. That was interesting all by itself. I got out to C-470 and went north and stopped at Wrigley’s. There was nobody there. I didn’t ask but just headed on to the Rock Rest.

At the Rock Rest I found Carol Downs who told me that actually, Wrigley’s was the first stop after The Shack, and then the group headed up to Rollinsville to a place up there. And that she had heard that it was pouring rain up there. So I hung out at the Rock Rest.

The Rock Rest itself is an interesting place. About 40 years ago I lived with my girlfriend just a short distance from there and we used to go dancing there on Saturday nights when they would have a country band playing. I haven’t set foot in the Rock Rest in perhaps 35 years. Here’s a shocker: it has changed. This funky little dive bar is now a popular local spot and it was busy on a Sunday afternoon.

Anyway, some of the folks made it down from Rollinsville and blew darts for their cards, while I did my best to shoot a usable picture in the poor light. Then I just figured I’d head on home.

But I mentioned to Carol that the website had said 12 a.m. and she said she had noticed the same thing just the day before. So hopefully future events will give an accurate starting time.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s a good day to have a good day.

If you ride a motorcycle you need accreditation on your driver’s license, right? Oh dude, that’s so last century!

Or at least that is apparently how some young hotshots on sportbikes see it.

This was an interesting discussion we had at the ABATE District 17 meeting last month. ABATE of Colorado is one of a number of outfits offering rider training courses, and the best way to get your initial accreditation is to take a Beginning Rider Course (BRC). At the end, presuming you pass the riding part of the test, all you then need to do is go to Motor Vehicle and take the written test. Boom, you’re licensed.

What one D-17 member brought up, however, is that he is a member of a few Facebook motorcycle groups, and among those who are active in that group, the general opinion is that hey, we don’t need no stinkin’ license. If a member posts that he/she got busted for riding without a license the common response is, “You should have outrun the cops!” Truth is, if you are a skilled rider of a high-powered sportbike, you probably can outrun the cops pretty easily. Unlike you, they are not going to risk the public safety trying to chase you down.

But sometimes they get nailed. And often that means, in order to get their bike back–which is often impounded–they have to get licensed. And as I said, there’s no better way to get licensed than taking a BRC. So rider coaches are accustomed to having students in their classes moaning that they have to take this course. They don’t want to, but they want their bike back.

I don’t know about you, but I consider this attitude a problem. For one thing, people die because of it. Just because you buy a sportbike and learn to ride it reasonably well does not make you Valentino Rossi. Unfortunately, that’s the last lesson some people learn just before they shuffle off this mortal coil.

So, ABATE offers rider training, and the discussion was on the question, how do we persuade more people to get training? Obviously, the more students, the more ABATE makes in fees, but the fees were not the focus of the conversation. We all just really believe people should get trained. It makes you a better rider. But how do you reach people?

One obvious thought is to try to engage them on the Facebook groups, but doesn’t seem particularly promising. Nobody responds well to a public scolding. Meanwhile cultivating relationships and gradually trying to point people in a certain direction is very time-consuming, with no guarantees even then.

It’s hard. And no, we didn’t come up with any silver bullets. If you’ve got one, or even just a copper .BB, fire it my way. In the meantime, if you know anyone riding without a license, do them a favor and try to talk some sense to them. The life you save may be theirs.

Biker Quote for Today

I learned one thing from jumping motorcycles that was of great value on the golf course, the putting green especially: Whatever you do, don’t come up short. — Evel Knievel

Stump was at the ABATE District 17 meeting and he updated us on the legislative scene vis a vis motorcycles. That’s his job, as you probably know–he’s ABATE’s state legislative representative.

Stump is hopeful in this upcoming session about a red light bill. Anyone who rides a motorcycle knows that there are user-triggered red lights that do not recognize motorcycles, which puts you in the position of either waiting until a car comes along–maybe for a long time–or ignoring the red and proceeding.

But there’s a funny twist here: Colorado already has a red light bill. Did people just forget? I don’t remember if this was something I knew at one point. If I did, I forgot.

Anyway, Stump is hoping for a small change to make the existing bill work better. Right now the verbiage is that you must wait “during several time cycles” before you can proceed. In most states that have red light bills they are more specific, usually stating a specific time span. In most cases it is two minutes. That’s what we’ll be pushing for, and Stump reports that he has found several legislators who favor making that change. And note that this would apply to all vehicles, so if you’re in your car and a light is broken you could run the red legally.

The issue, everyone agreed, is with the law enforcement folks. What happens when a cop shows up just as you pull through the red and he/she wasn’t there to see you sitting and waiting? If you have that sort of experience and you get ticketed, ABATE wants to know because if it is found to be a real issue then further measures may be needed.

Profiling
The present day issue with profiling is when law enforcement sets up checkpoints that only stop motorcyclists. That is perceived as unfair and therefore flat wrong. When the Motorcycle Riders Foundation had its Meeting of the Minds in Denver recently there was an event where Colorado U.S. Rep. Ken Buck was the keynote speaker. There have been efforts at the federal level to outlaw this practice but they have not gone far. Buck has not been a supporter, but following his interaction and exposure to the motorcycling community he has agreed to sign on to that effort in Washington. It’s a step forward.

Distracted Driving
The proposed distracted driving bill would increase penalties for someone injuring someone else due to their being distracted while driving. By that we primarily mean using their cell phone but it would apply to other distractions as well.

This bill has been supported in the legislature for several years by the Democrats but has repeatedly been blocked by the Republicans. Essentially, neither party has wanted to support the other’s legislative measures so if the Dems support this one the Reps oppose it, and they have. Plus, Stump says, some Republican legislators have told him they feel this would be an impingement on the driver’s liberty. (Never mind the liberty and well-being of the person they injure!) Now, however, the Democrats control both houses of the legislature and the governorship, so sponsor Sen. Lois Court hopes to finally see it move forward.

It’s a whole new ball game in Colorado now with the Dems firmly in control, and we’re likely to see a few things happening. We’ll be eager to see what those changes are, and whether we really think they’re for the best. Here’s hoping.

Biker Quote for Today

There is something about the sight of a passing motorcyclist that tempts many automobile drivers to commit murder. — Hunter S. Thompson

As I mentioned previously, my District 10 of ABATE of Colorado shut down and I am now a member of District 17. This group meets on Tuesday evenings and I went to my first meeting two days ago. Let’s just say it was interesting.

First off, those of us who were transferring from D-10 to D-17 had the idea that the D-17 people meet at The Shack in Littleton at 7 p.m. but many of them come at 6 for dinner and socializing. I got there and found Bruce and Carol Downs (former D-10) but nobody else. After awhile, Larry and Kathy Montgomery (former D-10) also showed up. But no one else. OK, we had dinner.

Eventually the others showed up, around 7. Mike Cole, the district rep, was very welcoming, as well he should be. By the time everyone got there, there were five of us and seven of them, so we have nearly doubled the size of their group. At least their active group; there are a lot of members who do not come to meetings.

We had introductions all around and got right to business. It was the usual stuff, legislative matters and planning for fundraising events, plus some discussion of bringing in new members. I’ll be going over these things later.

Under the events heading, I was interested to find that D-17 each year hosts a “Dart Run.” I don’t thing I’d ever heard of this before but it sounds like fun, and I was assured that it is. I’m still not clear on what it’s all about but the talk was of broken crossbows that need to be replaced, spears that were stolen from the event this year, and of course, darts. OK, I want to know more.

Mike mentioned that they are still in need of someone to chair the planning for next year’s Dart Run and he turned to me with the suggestion that perhaps I’d like to volunteer. I declined for now. This is just not how I function. My style, ever since I was a young child my mother tells me, is to come into a new situation and sit on the sidelines observing intently for a while, until I feel comfortable, at which point I join in. So stepping right up for this is not likely to happen.

But then during the rest of the meeting, any time some need of this sort came up Mike turned to me again and again. Whoa, whoa, back off! I know you don’t know me but let me tell you, to push me aggressively is the surest way to get me to not do what you want. I may need to have a discussion with him about this. I appreciate that he’s trying to get things accomplished but that’s not how I work.

So anyway, they seemed like a good group of people and we’re all there for the same reason, to look out for the interests of motorcyclists. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about them here.

Biker Quote for Today

When I’m riding my motorcycle, I’m glad to be alive. When I stop riding my motorcycle, I’m glad to be alive. — Neil Peart

I was going to put up another Examiner Resurrection about efforts by a few Congress members to put a damper on the then-new practice of setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints.

I thought that post would be worth resurrecting (Examiner.com died a couple years ago) because this is an issue we are still dealing with today. The point here, in case you are new to the subject or need a memory prod, is that law enforcement agencies sometimes set up checkpoints to look for a variety of issues: seat belt use, valid driver’s license, whatever.

The problem with motorcycle-only checkpoints is that they single us out, and for no justifiable reason. You want to check for valid driver’s license? Fine, stop everyone and check everyone. But don’t stop only motorcyclists.

I decided instead to tie this in with last week’s post about the Demise of District 10. The point being, these kind of policies go unchallenged if you don’t have people active in groups such as ABATE and the American Motorcyclist Association fighting them.

Just a few days ago I read a piece about how the American commitment to democracy seems to be fading as fewer and fewer people find themselves personally involved in associations. Years ago, it said, this country was sometimes called a “nation of presidents.” The meaning is that if you were a farmer you belonged to a co-op, and the co-op had officers and members voted on issues of concern. If you worked in a factory you belonged to the union and the union had officers and the members voted on issues of concern.

Cooperative groups like this flourished throughout society, to the point that everyone lived and practiced democracy and many, many people served as the officers of these groups: a nation of presidents.

This sort of participatory democracy has diminished. And it affects us as motorcyclists. District 10 of ABATE of Colorado died because there were not enough people who felt it worth their time to get involved. But really, is it not worth your time? How do you feel about motorcycle-only checkpoints? How do you feel about future infrastructure projects not taking motorcyclists into consideration in their planning? How do you feel about HOV lanes–which federal law says must be free to motorcycles–slapping you with a fee and fine for using them without a transponder?

These issues and many more are addressed by a very small percentage of riders–those of us willing to take our time to stand up for those who ride.

So back to the Examiner post I was going to run. The gist is in the lead sentence, “Laying it on the line, 11 Congressmen today questioned a grant program that provides money for law enforcement agencies to set up motorcycle-only traffic checkpoints and called on U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to suspend it.”

While we have made progress on this issue, we’re still fighting it. How much more effective might our efforts be if more of our fellow riders stepped up and offered their support, contacting their elected representatives to voice their concerns.

At the very least, lend your support via numbers. The more members the AMA has the more impact they are able to have. Here are three groups you might want to consider joining.
American Motorcyclist Association
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
ABATE of Colorado

Biker Quote for Today

And God said “Let there be bikers” and the Devil ran like hell.

District 10 of ABATE of Colorado is no more. This is the district I have been part of since I joined. I am now part of District 17.

It’s a sad situation. When I joined ABATE and District 10, D-10 was the largest, most active district in the state. What happened?

As usual, even though I was right there I was out of the loop. I’m never on the grapevine, never in touch with undercurrents. This is how it has been my whole life. I’m not sure why.

So I asked about this at the D-10 meeting in September. Why did membership drop off so precipitously?

The story, at least what I get from the folks who stayed with D-10, is that many of the old group were wedded to the Frontier Club, out on East Colfax, where we used to meet. Coming to ABATE on Sunday morning was just an opportunity to get an early start on Sunday’s drinking.

Meanwhile, there were other members who were uncomfortable with meeting at a bar, and drinking early in the day, when we were supposedly an organization that promoted responsible riding. There were enough of these to vote to move the meetings to a different place and the other folks stayed behind.

Again, this is what I get from the folks who stayed with D-10. If anyone from the other group wants to fill me in on their perspective, please do.

Additionally, there were conflicts about use of money raised through fund-raising efforts. When I joined ABATE, Randy Savely was the state rep for D-10. Randy had lost a leg when a car turned in front of him, and the Randy Ride had been created to raise money for other riders who had been hurt.

Now, the Randy Run was an ABATE function and so ABATE’s rules needed to apply to the money it raised. But, I am told, the core group focused on the Randy Run felt they should be able to use that money as they saw fit. Obviously this led to conflict and that group decided to go off on its own, taking the Randy Run with them.

And so D-10 shrank to where at most meetings there would be six people. The district had six officers so every one of us was an officer and at every meeting it was the same group of faces. More importantly, there were only those six to organize and carry off any events we chose to host. That’s a lot of work for just a few people. And to be honest, I was generally not one of those doing the work. I’ve never gotten into doing the grunt work, opting instead to do my part helping publicize the events the rest of them organized.

So when it came to vote on Sunday whether to fold the district or not, I was prepared to abstain because I felt they were the ones really carrying the load, who am I to vote to keep the district going for them to do the work? But the vote, without me, was 4 in favor of folding, with one abstention, so I added my vote to fold.

The upside is that I’ll be meeting new people and there are three districts in the state that are going to receive new members who are known to be active. That can only be a good thing for them. It will be interesting. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Biker Quote for Today

Teach your kids to count bikes on car journeys and they will automatically see us when they start to drive.