With the arrival of warmer weather, OPP Sergeant Ryan Martin is urging motorcyclists to take time before making trips on the road.
Martin, the OPP Highway Safety Division’s unit commander, works out of the Mount Forest detachment and has four motorcycle officers under his command. Wellington County has another four riders.
He knows motorcyclists are waiting to get out on the roadways, but they have to realize their driving skills are diminished after a long winter and need some refreshing.
“Motorcycle riding is physically demanding,” he said in a recent interview with the Advertiser.
Officers riding for the OPP have to take a 12-hour annual training session before taking a motorcycle out. It helps them to refresh the skills that were at their peak when the season ended last year, Martin said.
Every OPP rider goes through a three-week intensive training course when they first become a rider.
The switch in skills between seasons – which Martin refers to as “perishable skills” – is something all motorcycle drivers experience, he said.
“Last year we investigated 28 fatal accidents involving motorcycles,” he said of accidents across the province. “The main cause we found in a quarter of the accidents is loss of control.”
That loss of control he attributes to inexperience and excessive speed.
Balance, coordination, holding to the speed limit and gaining experience in using the clutch and brake are keys to safe driving, Martin noted.
Those fundamental skills are not always available to those thinking of purchasing a motorcycle for the first time – or to experienced bikers.
Martin concedes there is not much information on motorcycle safety available to the public. It’s a topic that often comes out when he is stopped with his OPP Harley Davidson at a gas station.
“Every time that kickstand is down three or four people will come and talk to me,” he said. “It’s a good time to talk to people.”
Although he’s not a recreational driver in his spare time, Martin took advantage of the opportunity to drive a motorcycle when he worked with Niagara OPP.
“There’s always been a motorcycle available,” he said of his decision to try it out.
Besides the skills, Martin said motorcyclists have to make sure their machines are in “good shape.”
He also credits the 12-hour training sessions for the strong showing OPP riders have had at the annual Great Lakes Motorcycle Training Seminar.
And despite outstanding motorcycle safety wear, accidents do not favour the driver.
“When things go wrong on a motorcycle it goes really wrong because you’re wearing all your bumpers,” he said.
Martin added the county, like the Niagara Region, is a destination for bikers, though the season is shorter here.
