BoomerBikerOnline.com - Tip of the Week # 6

Vehicle Safety Inspection Standard Operating Procedure - Never take it for granted!

Over the years, I've worked diligently to develop and refine my own personal Vehicle Safety Inspection - Standard Operating Procedure -- my own V.S.I.S.O.P. - if you will -- which I use for ensuring the safety of all my families' vehicles. These procedures have served me well over the years. In fact, they have worked so well for me that I've unknowingly started taking them for granted - at least until last Thursday.

Last week, I made plans to trailer my Harley to a distant city over the weekend with the intention of participating in a fund-raising charity motorcycle ride. You see, whenever I'm planning a long road trip, it's V.S.I.S.O.P.. for me to always check fluid levels, tire pressures, brakes, filters, wiper blades and all other expendable parts, to insure that I don't end up stranded on the side of the road -- or worse.

Just when I thought that I'd seen it all, that's when I got the surprise of my life.

Thursday morning something happened to me while performing my V.S.I.S.O.P. that had never happened to me in all the 45-or-so years I've been checking my vehicles. What happened to me that morning turned out to be one of those watershed events in ones life that immediately snaps you out of a state of complacency and body slams you right back to reality.

I began my morning performing V.S.I.S.O.P., first on my SUV and than my Harley. Inspections satisfactorily completed, I turned my attention to my enclosed cycle trailer. It had been sitting for quite some time so I already knew that it deserved some additional scrutiny.

Whenever it, sits for any length of time, I always make sure to keep my trailer's tires coated with a product like ArmorAll®. That shields the tire's rubber from the sun's Ultra-Violet rays, hopefully preventing the rubber from cracking. I also go the extra step by covering those same tires with an RV wheel blanket. And finally, I make sure to periodically monitor tire pressure.

Trailer Safety Check:

· Visual tire inspection -- No cracks - Check · Lug nuts - Tight · Wheel Bearings -- Grease OK - Check · Lights - All working - Check

· Check each trailer tire for proper hauling air pressure….Che… and that's when it happened!

As I placed the pressure gauge on the valve stem of one of my trailer tires, the valve's core blew out with a loud pot and shrill, unmistakable sound of rapidly escaping pressurized air!

A startling surprise to me!

Stunned by what had just happened, I knelt there helplessly and watched as my trailer listed and tire flattened. My only thought - to thank my lucky stars that this happened to my trailer tire at home and in the driveway instead of fully loaded in route at speed on the Interstate.

And so, although it took me the rest of the day to jack up my trailer, remove the tires, drive them to a service center, and have "all" valve stems replaced, that was not nearly as inconvenient for me as what could have happened loosing that valve stem while driving down the Interstate at 65 MPH.

Look at it this way. Thursday was my lucky day! So, here's some bits of advise from me to you. Please make use of my tips and create some luck for yourself:

· Create your own Vehicle Safety Inspection Standard Operating Procedure. · Perform your personal V.S.I.S.O.P. Regularly and religiously! · And never, - ever - take your V.S.I.S.O.P. for granted!

Because, just when you think you've seen it all, that's when - Complacency Begins and Safety Ends.

Respectfully, Bruce Hosking and the rest of the "Gang" @ BoomerBikerOnline.com 2174 Nursery Road, Suite 110 Clearwater, Fl. 33764 USA 727-729-4270

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