Safety and Education
ABATE of Illinois Motorcycle Awareness Program
ABATE of Illinois' motorcycle awareness program was developed with the new and inexperienced driver in mind, and teaches them how to look for, and interact in traffic with motorcycles.
Rider Education
ABATE of Illinois encourages all motorcyclists to complete both the BRC (Basic Rider Course) and the ERC (Experienced Rider Course,) which were developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and are sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In our area the classes are held at Illinois Central College (ICC), administered by the ICC Motorcycle Safety Department. A $20.00 deposit is required and is refundable upon course completion. Any Illinois resident 16 years of age or older who holds a valid drivers license or permit may register. Students less than 18 years of age must have parental or legal guardian permission to participate in the class. To enroll in a class you must enroll from the ICC website.
Motorcycle Rider Safety ProgramTake the Rider Perception test by MSF.
Print out the form to T-Clock Inspection to make sure that your bike is road ready.
T-Clock Inspection Form
First is a USB Dog Tag sold under the name of UTAG. (ICE-UTAG) . The site has 3 different options available in the form of the dog tag, wrist strap and a credit card style format. Prices range from $45 to about $60. Members can see more by visiting the website above for details and ordering information. Next is the Secretary of State for Illinois has a Emergency Contact Database (SOS - Emergency Contact Database) This database allows Illinois instruction permit, driver's license and identification card holders to enter their emergency contact information, as well as disability/special needs information pertaining to the card holder, into a voluntary, secure database. In the event of a motor vehicle crash or other emergency where a person is unable to communicate, law enforcement may access this information to help them reach the person's designated emergency contacts and provide information to emergency/medical personnel on the scene of the emergency. If a person holds both an Illinois driver's license or permit and an Illinois identification card, the emergency contact information can be entered for both cards in one transaction. The information will only be associated with the record(s) selected by the participant. Participants can add, modify, or delete their emergency contact information at any time by visiting this web page. Any modifications or deletions will overwrite all previously entered information. Previously entered emergency contact information will not be displayed, in order to ensure the privacy and security of the information. Participants can print the page containing their emergency contact information upon completion for their records. Participants may select one or two persons as their emergency contacts, and are encouraged to share their participation with the emergency contacts they have chosen. Participants can also indicate any disability or special need that may require immediate attention by emergency and/or medical personnel, if they choose to do so.
The next item is a company called Medjet Assist. (Medjet Assist). Medjet Assist is a medical evacuation membership program that arranges medical transfer to the hospital of the member's choice. If a Medjet member becomes hospitalized more than 150 miles from home and meets transport criteria, Medjet will arrange medical transfer to the hospital of their choice at no additional cost. All the member pays is their membership fee.
Lastly is a pdf spreadsheet that anyone can print. The rider then fills in the various fields of information and carries it on the motorcycle so in case of an emergency they will have the needed information for the first responders.
Any one of the above or a combination of the above could be very important in saving a life particularly if the person is alone at the time of the accident and not able to talk for themselves.