Biker's Betterment Conference Highlights Safety and Education

The Second Annual Biker's Betterment Conference convened on March 25-26, 2011 in Rosemont, Illinois. Hosted by Road Guardians, the conference brings together some of the brightest minds in the motorcycle community to discuss safety issues in an apolitical environment.

The National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (NAMS) identified six categories that advance the goals of injury reduction and crash avoidance; rider education, licensing and laws, impaired riding, protective apparel, awareness and first response.

In addition to the safety topics, a legal and insurance workshop was conducted by attorneys Randy Sevenish of Sevenish Law firm, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Todd Korb and Vito Manicioto of Hupy and Abraham, S.C. This was a lively session with discussion on how to properly buy insurance to avoid financial disaster.

Todd Korb and Vito Manicioto of Hupy and Abraham S.C.


Accident Scene Management (ASMI) Executive Director and Road Guardian Founder, Vicki Sanfelipo opened the conference with an introduction of the highly qualified speakers who made presentations on a variety of topics. Following the introductions, Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo spoke about preserving the biker lifestyle through involvement with safety initiatives. Tony is founder of ABATE of Wisconsin (1974) and an accident investigator with Hupy and Abraham, S.C.

Marketing Motorcycle Safety was a group discussion led by Vicki who was joined by Al Hydeman, Director of Research, Development & Design for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Road Guardians has two levels; General Members and Certified Members. To become a Certified Road Guardian, ASMI, a motorcycle rider course and CPR is required.  To that end, a large group of conference attendees participated in a group CPR class with adult, child and AED components. There were several CPR Instructors on hand to help Vicki with the class.

Teresa McClelland demonstrates how to use the AED


Ending the Friday workshops was a presentation by Andy Goldfine, Aero Stitch Design Manager and founder of the national Ride to Work Day event.  Andy discussed rider apparel and the competition with  Asian producers of products similar to Aero Stitch. He has some examples of exceptional products for riding in all kinds of weather.  The day ended with a social hour/cocktail reception.

Saturday was all business but it was still fun. Al Hydeman, MSF, spoke about Life Long Learning, a Road Guardian belief, as a way of doing everything you can to avoid crashing. Mike Aguilar, President of Innocorp, and maker of the Fatal Vision goggles, spoke about impaired riding and distracted drivers.

After lunch, Teresa McClelland (Trauma Mama) gave a hands on presentation on securing the scene of an accident. She is Director of Training for Rescue Riders and a lead instructor for ASMI, as well as being a Trauma Nurse Specialist and EMS Educator.

Paul Cote came to the conference from Massachusetts to promote the Check Twice-Save a Life program he owns in his home state. He is also co-founder of the Massachusetts Motorcyclists Survivor's Fund which helps families of riders killed or seriously injured in Massachusetts.

Defensive Driving Strategies was the topic presented by Bob Ritter, Program Manager for Northern Illinois University's Motorcycle Safety Program. His workshop incorporated a group dynamic/problem solving element that everyone participated in to identify problems and find solutions.

The day ended with the legal and insurance workshop with Attorneys Randy Sevenish, Todd Korb and Vito Manicioto. The attorneys explained the difference in various elements of insurance coverage and the dangers of not buying the right kinds of insurance. Some attendees were surprised that Wisconsin lawmakers decided to repeal recent insurance law changes in Wisconsin that provided much better coverage for consumers and instead are going back to pre-2009 minimums which are totally inadequate.

Jayson White, MSF Program Coordinator from Troy, Ohio, brought the Honda Simulator for people to try their skills on and presented a talk on Group Riding.

The evening ended with a fantastic banquet and awards program, recognizing individuals and organizations that promote safety for the motorcycle community. If you haven't attended the BBC, please make a point of attending a conference in the future. There are plans for several regional conferences and it is hoped that Atlanta, Georgia will be the site of the first regional BBC later this year or early 2012.

The BBC is presented by Road Guardians and Hupy and Abraham S.C. is proud to be a sustaining sponsor and legal representative for the Road Guardian program.

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