It’s been a few years ago, that my wife took the Basic Rider Course. At that time they were warning against carrying anything solid (Cell Phones) on your body. Due to deep bruising and bone damage, caused by the phone in a accident.
Both would be better than no help at all. I was just wondering what position on the body. In a hard impact Would lessen the damage done to the body, by the spot unit?
Ooooooooooo........the Almighty Basic Rider Course Instructors. Who shall ever question their wisdom?
Okay, that's a little harsh. I apologize. I mean, honestly, that's good advice, right? Don't carry around a bunch of your stuff in your pockets because in case of a get-off on your bike, yes, all that bouncing and rolling off the ground, objects can cause some damage. But let's qualify that statement a little.
Being a rider that has had an accident with stuff in his pockets, their argument has merit but I think it's a little over cautious. It's not an invalid statement, just lacking perspective. When I had my accident, I had my cellphone in a leg pocket on my jeans, my wallet in my front right pocket. When I came off the bike, I went down on my left side, my hands still on the handlebars. Thus my left elbow impacted my left ribs. Cracked my ribs. I then rolled many times. How many? I don't remember. Ten times? Five times? Twenty times? A bunch, that's how much. Cell phone screen was shattered but did not cause bruising that I recall. Nor from my wallet.
Now let's say I had a large set of keys in my pocket. Would this have caused some bruising? Possibly. How about puncture wounds? Yes, that could have been possible. Still, in the grand scheme of things, any get-off that could cause things in your pocket to cause additional damage would be causing so many other injuries just from the fall alone that could your really pinpoint something in pocket as the main problem? The most damage I had was from my left elbow and I can't likely leave that at home.
Now let's talk about gear. If you're on this forum, I hope you're more likely to be wearing protective riding hear, including a helmet and gloves. In my case, I was wearing an Aerostich Darien jacket. I still wear it to this day, almost 8 years later. It has a nice little abrasion mark where I struck the pavement, but that's it. Elbow, shoulder, and back armor protected me. The typical rider that the Basic Rider Instructor is talking to is the guy that gets his license, goes right out an buys a Harley, and then rides around that day with a sleeveless leather vest, tennis shoes, and no helmet. Phone is his pocket or not, a get-off means a really, really bad day for him.
If I'm in the middle of nowhere and have an accident and my SPOT is in my pocket, be it chest pocket, arm pocket, or wherever, I may incur some injuries from that device but hoping that said device stays intact, I may very well need it to call emergency care. In that sense, the potential good vastly outweighs the potential bad. If we want to mitigate injuries from an accident, leave the SPOT in your pocket and keep all other items stored elsewhere on the bike but I think we can justify the SPOT.
Some people hard-mount their SPOT. I used to do this because it was easier in some ways. In the end, I attached it to my jacket because if I come off the bike, the chances that my bike and I end up in the same location are less likely. I agree with the jacket arm pocket. It's good. I have my on a carabiner over my left pocket. No issues thus far.
The Basic Riding Course instructor wasn't wrong, his statement was factual, but it's honestly more likely he wanted to say something that sounded profound to a new rider than something that was actually a functional real-world practice. I vote for carrying it on your person in the best place that you can manipulate it, keep track of it, and use it.
My apologies to all riding instructors.
