Chapter Rules & Road Safety Guidelines

To keep all riders safe we require everyone riding in our group rides to comply with the chapter rules and road safety guidelines. Our club's riding rules apply to everyone and EVERYONE riding with the club is expected to follow them. Anyone violating these rules and compromising safety, will be warned. Repeat violations will lead to removal and banning from all club rides. The following rules were compiled from various sources and most groups that ride in orderly formations follow similar rules.

Chapter Rules

All riders must have a valid driver’s license endorsed for motorcycle operation (class DM). All riders must sign a Ride Waiver and Release Form, which we will keep on file for all rides.

Your bike should be maintained in a safe condition. Motorcycles with malfunctioning lights, brakes and worn tires or other items in disrepair deemed a hazard will not be permitted to participate in Chapter rides.

All traffic laws will be strictly obeyed. Drinking alcohol or the use of drugs while riding will NOT be allowed - we observe a zero-tolerance policy.

Never ride over your personal comfort zone, no matter what. The Road Captain and Tail Gunner will make sure you do not get left behind.

Always be alert, scanning front to back and side to side for unexpected obstacles, other vehicles and other bikers.

Watch for everything just as if you were riding solo.

Ride in staggered formation unless directed otherwise by the Road Captain. Riding in staggered formation gives each biker time and space to react to the potential unexpected mishaps without compromising or endangering the safety of his/her fellow riders in the group.

Watch for hand signals given first by the Road Captain and passed back through the group. Pay attention to the bike in front of you. Learn and use all appropriate hand signals.

Curves should be taken one bike at a time whether in a staggered or single file formation to allow enough radiuses for each bike to turn. Each rider and each bike turns differently. Don't assume you know what the bike near you will do.

Formation

We ride in an organized group instead of an undisciplined pack. When a group rides in an orderly fashion, people don't get in each other's way and the formation itself discourages cars from attempting to cut in. Riding will be in a standard staggered formation unless the leader calls for single file. In staggered formation, the bikes form two columns, with the leader at the head of the left column. The second bike will head the right column and will ride approximately one seconds behind the leader. The other riders will position their bikes two seconds behind the bike directly in front of them, which puts them one second behind the the bike on the opposite column. This allows ample time for any quick maneuvers or hard breaking should such occur. This formation allows each riders sufficient safety space while discourages other vehicles from cutting into the line.

Road Captain

The Road Captain is responsible for the safety of the entire formation and all direction comes from him. He makes all decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel, closing of gaps, turning off at exits, concerns that may lie ahead, accepting/rejecting radio messages from other individuals and so on. He must be aware of the length of the columns and must gauge the passing of merges, intersections, highway entrances and exits, etc... to allow for maximum safety by keeping the group together. He must make sure that he leaves enough time and space for formation to get into the appropriate lanes before exits, etc... No individual will assert himself independently without direction from the Road Captain.

Tail Gunner

The Tail Gunner serves as the eyes of the Road Captain. He watches the formation and informs the Road Captain of any potential problems within the group. He also informs the Road Captain and any other individuals with radios of hazardous conditions approaching from the rear, such as vehicles trying to cut into the formation and vehicles passing with potentially dangerous wind blasts or cargo. He will watch for merging lanes and move on to the merging lane in order to "close the door" on other vehicles that may otherwise find themselves trying to merge into the formation. At the Road Captain's request, the Tail Gunner changes lanes before the formation, to secure the lane so the formation can move into it. If any rider in the group has to pull out, only the Tail Gunner will pull over to assist. Any rider who elects to drop out of the ride due to time constraints, prior commitments, etc.., must notify the Tail Gunner before the ride begins, at a pervious breakpoint or by radio before dropping out. Larger group rides may require more than one Tail Gunner, more then one in the back and possibly one in the middle. A Tail Gunner in the middle of a formation will direct riders separated at intersection or by vehicles who have cut into the formation.

Lane Changes

All lane changes start with a radio request from the Road Captain to the Tail Gunner. When safe to do so the Tail Gunner will move into the requested lane and will inform the Road Captain when the lane is clear.

At this point, the Road Captain has three options:

• Simple Lane Change - This is an ordinary lane change and is used in most situations. After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the Road Captain will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal he also turns on his signal so the riders following can get the signal also. The leader then initiates the change and all other riders follow. The important concept is that NO ONE moves until the bike directly in front has started moving.


• Block Lane Change - This can be used interchangeably with the Simple Lane Change. It requires a little more teamwork, but is well worth the effort. It's quite impressive to watch, and gives the riders a tremendous feeling of togetherness. This sounds complicated, but is actually very simple to do. After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the Road Captain will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal, he also turns his on so riders following get the signal. The leader then raises his left arm straight up and each rider repeats the signal. Then as the leader lowers his arm to point to the new lane, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and change lanes simultaneously. This allows the entire formation to move from one lane to another as a single block.


• Rear Fill-in Lane Change - This is sometimes necessary if a long enough gap cannot be maintained in a new lane such as, when trying to move from the right lane to the center lane and vehicles from the left lane keep cutting into the opening. Once the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the leader (usually at the suggestion of the Tail Gunner) will call for the group to fill in the space from the rear. He signals this by raising his hand to shoulder height and pushing it towards the new lane. All riders repeat the signal and the last bikes move into the space in the new lane ahead of the Tail Gunner, then the next-to-last bike moves in ahead of those and so on until the Road Captain finally moves into the space ahead of the entire formation. This option requires more caution since the lane changes come from the rear.

In the event that there is no radio communication between the Road Captain and the Tail Gunner, the Tail Gunner will have to anticipate when a lane change is required based on the pre-ride and route map. The Tail Gunner will have to secure a lane before hand, however ultimately the Road Captain has the lead when a lane change occurs and all riders must always follow the lead of the Road Captain.

New Riders

New riders who are inexperienced with GROUP riding should be positioned as close to the front as possible. The Road Captain should be made aware of any New Riders. New Riders should pair up with an experienced Shepherd for guidance and support and it is the Shepherd's responsibility to instruct the new rider on all ride signals and rules.

Emergencies

In the unlikely event of an emergency situation, the Road Captain will make every attempt to move the formation to the shoulder in an orderly manner. If a bike is having trouble, allow the rider to move over to the right side. DO NOT STOP. The Tail Gunner will stop with the problem bike and the Road Captain will lead the remaining group to a safe place.

Tolls

On rides that will require crossing a toll, the Road Captain should be made aware on who has EZ Tags and who will have to pay. The Road Captain will collect money in advance and separate the group into two packs. The EZ Tag riders will be in the the front of the formation and the paying riders in the back of the formation. When approaching the toll booths the two groups will separate. One rider for the paying group will be assigned by the Road Captain to pay for all the paying riders. Many toll booths have counters that count the number of vehicles coming through; to accommodate this, ride through the toll booth one at a time. EZ Tag riders will use two different toll lanes next to each other. The riders on the left column of the formation on the left lane and riders on the right column of the formation on the right lane. Upon exiting the toll booths all riders will re-establish the formation and everyone will resume in the same position. EZ Tag riders may have to move onto the right most lane and reduce speed in order to allow time for the paying riders to get thru the toll booths. All riders are encouraged to get an EZ Tag to avoid hold ups at toll booths.

Hand Signals

Each rider and passenger should duplicate all hand signals given by the rider in front of them, so that the signals get passed all the way to the back of the formation. The following signals are used.

 

Ride Straight

Our chapter rides never include consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages is prohibited before and during any chapter rides. Research shows that alcohol adversely affects riding skills. Most motorcyclist agree that it takes more coordination and alertness to ride a motorcycle then drive a car. Good judgment is the most critical skill in motorcycle riding. Judgment is an essential element in the process of preventing crashes. Using other drugs, including prescriptions and over-the counter medications, before riding can also be dangerous and increase risk significantly. If a Road Captain suspects, out of good judgment, that a rider is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the Road Captain will remove the rider from the group in order to protect the safety of the entire group. These violations will not be tolerated and will lead to removal and banning from all club rides and events.