Whether you're a seasoned motorcycle group rider or just beginning, it's always a good idea to brush up on motorcycle group hand signals. A lot can happen out on the open road so being able to communicate with your follow riders is important for everyone's safety.

Below is a graphic that displays the different hand signals and their meaning. Of course there are a few variations depending on where and who you learn them from. Always be sure that all your riders follow and understand the same signals before taking off for your ride.

(Image: Motorcycle Safety Month-Motorcycle Group Riding Signals, Mark Prociw, motorcycle.com).

Last June Ronald Bizeau Jr., 25, was killed on his motorcycle due to what his mother declares as the negligent posting of a traffic control sign. The family is now suing the city of Chicago for their loss.

Ride through Baltimore lately? The next time you do you may notice at busy intersections new yellow diamond shaped traffic signs that state WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES. These signs are all part of the effort Allstate Insurance Company has been putting forth to reduce the number of motorcycle accidents at intersections.

Have a thing for vintage bikes? Then you won't want to miss out on the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio!

• Full weekend pass: $55
• General Admission for Friday, Saturday, OR Sunday: $35
• ALL children 12 and under FREE with adult
• Tent camping: $45
• Vehicle Pass: $100

Boxer Paul Williams was in a motorcycle accident in Marietta Georgia this past Sunday and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Williams was in the neighborhood for his brother's wedding later that afternoon. While maneuvering along a curve Williams' attempted to dodge a vehicle in the lane next to him. Police say his speed was too fast to make the curve and hit the embankment. Williams fell of his bike landing on his back and head, severing his spinal cord. He is currently at an undisclosed hospital and is listed in to be in serious condition but stable, (Boxer Paul Williams paralyzed in motorcycle crash, manager says, Associate Press, Mercury News,

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_20732825/boxer-paul-williams-paralyzed-motorcycle-crash-manager-says).

Fellow boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was scheduled to fight Williams on September 15 in Las Vegas, but is now canceled says Williams' manager George Peterson. Peterson has been visiting and in contact with Williams and reports that “from the waist down, he has absolutely no movement. He's in very good spirits, though. He still believes he's going to fight again.”

His long time promoter Dan Goossen has confirmed the cancellation of the event and states that “right now, there's no thinking about his fights right now except for the fight that's facing Paul right now – get movement back in his body and keep the movement that's above his waist. I want to think along with him, ‘cause I've seen him do things in his boxing career that shouldn't have happened,” (Boxer Paul Williams paralyzed in motorcycle crash, manager says, Associate Press, Mercury News).

Goossen is referring to the fact that Williams has had anything but an ordinary boxing career. He is considered to be one of the most versatile and remarkable in the boxing world as he has competed in three different weight classes at 147-pounds 6-foot 2-inch. With everyone in good spirits and high hopes Peterson wants Williams' fans to know that “he's going to be alright and he'll be back. He said if he wasn't going to be boxing, he's going to be a stand-up comedian,” (Boxer Paul Williams paralyzed in motorcycle crash, manager says, Associate Press, Mercury News).
 

In the State of California a driver who was texting while driving hit and killed a motorcyclist has now been sentenced to five years in prison.

Sequoia Jones, 23, was driving and texting in her Volkswagen Beetle in Sacramento on October 24 when she sideswiped Robert Wilson, 64, on his motorcycle. The collision knocked Wilson off his bike, resulting in his death after another car ran over his body, (Texting Driver Gets Prison Time in Death of Motorcyclist: But In Another State, Community Service Is Ordered, American Motorcyclist, June 2012).

Jones was charged with vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run to which she pleaded no contest on March 12 and then was sentenced to five years in jail.

In a similar case in North Carolina Andrew James Watkins, 25, pleaded guilty in 2011 after his driving while texting resulted in the death of motorcyclist Joel Severson, 39. Watkins sentence did not include the same amount of jail time however, he was given a 60-day suspension of jail term, perform 200 hours of community service and a $1,000 court fine, (Texting Driver Gets Prison Time in Death of Motorcyclist: But In Another State, Community Service Is Ordered, American Motorcyclist, June 2012).

AMA Government Affairs Manager Imre Szauter stated on the matter “these are very tragic cases in which texting while driving caused needless deaths. Our condolences go out to the Wilson and Severson families. Distracted driving poses a deadly danger to motorcyclists, and it's something that we are working on to try to reduce,” (Texting Driver Gets Prison Time in Death of Motorcyclist, American Motorcyclist, June 2012).