Concealed Carry

Gun Talk

Concealed Carry in the Summer

July 1, 2020 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 5 Mins Read

Greetings fellow bikers and Patriots! I just got back two weeks ago from a fantastic ride through the North Georgia Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Over three days, I rode 950 miles of some of the most scenic country in the United States. Some of the major motorcycle routes I rode were GA Route 60 through the Suches area, the vaunted Moonshiner 28, the Blue Ridge Parkway and New Found Gap Road. These roads are all quite different, but one commonality on each route was that I was carrying concealed. I rarely leave home without a sidearm. And I mean rarely. In fact, I had my trusty SIG Sauer 1911 We The People on my side, with a spare seven-round magazine on my left side. That is 15 rounds of .45 ACP power! But carrying a concealed pistol in the summer – when the temperatures can cook an egg – can be uncomfortable.

Summer Carry

During the summer months, you need to be cognizant of how you carry. When you are dressed in lighter weight clothing, it is much easier to have your firearm “print” through your clothing. While I have noticed a lot of people open carry over the past year, this is just not for me, as I do not want to become a target for someone wanting to score a new firearm. Plus, I firmly believe that surprise is the essence of self-defense. If you are open carrying, and you are unfortunate to be in the same place as a thug committing and armed robbery, you will be the first person the shit-bag aims at.

I am not a small guy at 6′ tall and 205 pounds. This allows me to typically carry outside-the-waist band (OWB). While I own several great inside-the-waistband (IWB) holsters, most notably Crossbreed Holsters Super Tucks, I typically wear tighter jeans when I am riding. Carrying OWB inevitably leads to its own set of issues as doing so makes your sidearm more likely to print through your clothing – especially given the fact that I prefer full-sized or commander sized pistols. That being said, I always wear shirts that would be a bit on the large size for my frame when I am carrying OWB. This helps to conceal my pistol, but because the shirt is a bit larger, it can make it more difficult to draw the pistol. If I decide to wear a shirt that is a bit tighter, I carry my compact SIG Sauer P365 SAS in a small OWB holster made by Crossbreed. It certainly is easier to conceal than my larger frame semi-autos but I also like to carry larger caliber pistols like my P226 SIG Sauer Legion and my P229 SIG.

**This is my Crossbreed (OWB) holster with my P365 SAS SIG Sauer pistol – it is great for riding**

My suggestion for you is to carry the pistol you are most comfortable with, in a holster that makes it comfortable to wear. The optimum rig would be an IWB holster as they make concealing your firearm easier. A lot of people I know also use an ankle or pocket holster. There are certainly some quality rigs for both type of carry, but neither works well for me. I find ankle holsters uncomfortable and pocket holsters only work for compact pistols which are not my preferred firearm since I do not shoot them as well as larger pistols. You, however, may find one, or the other, a very viable solution.

Know The Carry Laws Where You Travel

Traveling outside your home state can present a dilemma if you prefer to leave your humble abode with your pistol. Before any of my out-of-state trips, I always review the concealed carry laws for the states I will be traveling to. Because I travel to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia regularly, I know my Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit (HCP) is valid in each state. But if I were to venture into Maryland concealing a pistol, I would be subject to arrest and incarceration. If there is any chance that you may change your return ride mid-trip, make sure to check out the laws for each state. (Note: This author never recommends illegally carrying a firearm in states which do not have reciprocal reciprocity with your state. Doing so can result in arrest, expensive legal fees and incarceration.)

If you are planning a trip this summer, consider planning your ride to include only states you are legally allowed to carry in. This September, my beautiful lady and I are heading to The Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood. New Jersey. I definitely will not be carrying during this trip as New Jersey has some of the toughest gun laws in the U.S., and possessing a firearm there is a serious felony which inevitably would require time in their penal system. Something I am just not willing to risk. Some of these anti-gun states do allow you to carry an unloaded pistol, in a lockbox, but may only allow you to do so if you are not staying there – in other words – interstate travel.

Below is a map highlighting states Tennessee have reciprocal concealed carry arrangements with. The states in yellow are good. The states in brown are not so good. The states in black are plain evil and will not get any of my business on long trips on two wheels.

**Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map from United States Concealed Carry Association**

If you are going to conceal carry, carry your pistol in a rig which is comfortable for you. If you are traveling this summer, you should consider only going to states you can legally carry in with routes that take you through states that honor your right to self-protection.

Until next time, brothers, sisters and Patriots, keep the shiny side up, carry often and live like there is no tomorrow.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Gun Talk

Salon Article: Guns Increase Testosterone & Aggressiveness

June 14, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 5 Mins Read

Some stuff just can’t be made up. We live in a world of fake news. Facebook is especially guilty of making sure liberal news headlines reach everyone’s news feed. But today, Personal Defense World shared portions of an article which was written by Thom Hartmann, a fellow at the Independent Media Institute, and who is regularly published in Salon magazine.

If the article was not so entirely preposterous, it would probably have never made any news sites whatsoever – besides Facebook.

Here are some of the key findings listed in the article.

With a gun in his hand, a man can look around the room, a building, or a public area and specifically identify who will instantaneously die and whom he will allow to live.
The power of life and death is greater and more intoxicating than any other power; it’s one of the reasons why some men are specifically drawn to these professions (priesthood, doctors, police and soldiers) and have historically tried to regulate them to be male-only.
If you are not a male and have never carried a gun in public, it’s only an imaginary experiment, but science shows that simply handling a gun alters men’s levels of testosterone and measurably increases their aggressive behavior.

What’s most telling for the purpose of the Salon article is Hartmann’s conclusions:

If you have to register a car and have a driver’s license, guns should be registered and the owner should have a license, presumably a Federal license;
If a driver has to have liability insurance, gun owners should also be required to have liability insurance;
If a driver has to prove their skills by taking a written exam and driving test, gun owners should have to do the same.

Let’s have your lovable Grey Beard Biker refute the overall basis of the article:

Men walk around determining who should live and die: There are literally million of concealed carry permit holders – including women – who are the only people legally able to carry a gun outside their homes. Hell, as you might expect, the GBB is licensed to carry. Speaking for myself, I have never walked into a room picking out people to kill and people to live.
The power of life and death is intoxicating: What the fuck? I have never even thought of having the power of life and death over another living person. And as for priests, preachers, police officers and doctors being intoxicated with their power over who dies, most of these individuals would agree that all of them are more interested with the “life” component than the “death component.” Lastly, each profession Hartmann lists, has more than its fair share of women dedicated to the field – including soldiers.
Testosterone in men increases when they are handling a gun: This is the most outlandish of any of Hartmann’s assertions. Seriously, Thom Hartmann, you even state in your article that it was an imaginary experiment. Since when, do imaginary experiments remotely have legitimacy?

Now let use talk about your conclusions, Mr. Hartmann.

License gun owners and register their guns: We already have background checks on all purchases of firearms – including those purchased online and those on the internet. What purpose would a Federal gun license or a Federal/State gun registration scheme serve other than providing a list of addresses for some overarching oligarch to send their gestapo to seize law abiding citizens’ firearms? Or, perhaps in your case, the registration would allow a publication such as Salon to get a list of legal gun owners’ addresses so you can publish them? It’s been done before.
Require gun owners have liability insurance on their firearms: This is totally leftist code for, “This is how we can make a criminal of law abiding citizens and take their guns!” Having worked in the casualty insurance industry for 30 years, old Grey Beard knows no insurance company is ever going to underwrite such a policy. EVER. If they do, the costs will be prohibitive for all but the extremely wealthy elites Salon caters to: actors, actresses, athletes, politicians, etc. Those with walls around their homes and personal security to escort them around town.
Concealed carry holders have to prove their competency: Dumbass, this is already a part of the process of getting a concealed carry permit in almost every state – and these are the only people who can LEGALLY carry a gun outside their homes!

Thom Hartmann, you cannot hide your true colors. You align yourself with gun grabbers like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Watters, AOC, etc. You want to have your form of a Utopian Society where guns are illegal. A society where the only people with guns are criminals – criminals who would not hesitate for one second to shoot you between your eyes and take your wallet – something no legal, concealed carry permit holder would ever do. We would be the ones protecting your ass. Now go back to your mommy’s basement couch and STFU.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

**Personal Defense World – Commentary on Salon Article**

2nd Amendment in Action

West Virginia Mom Shoots Rapist

June 14, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 2 Mins Read

A West Virginia woman, catching a 53 year old pedophile/sex offender in her 12 year old daughter’s room, uses the Second Amendment to take care of business.

As reported in Concealed Carry Magazine:

Hearing a commotion in her 12 year old daughter’s room at about 2 a.m., a Morgantown mother armed herself with a shotgun and proceeded to investigate. Upon entering the daughter’s room, she found a strange man struggling with her daughter. When the assailant turned to face her, the mother fired one blast from the shotgun, catching him in the face and taking off most of his head. The daughter was physically unharmed, though traumatized by the attack. Authorities described her attacker as a notorious pedophile with a string of known offenses against young victims. West Virginia is a Castle Doctrine state, and charges against the 42 year old mother appear unlikely at this point.

This is your Second Amendment in action and your Grey Beard Biker approves of this mother taking care of business.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Note: Concealed Carry Magazine is the monthly publication of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, the operating entity of Delta Defense, LLC. USCCA is an approved Grey Beard Biker company and offers USCCA members Self Defense Education, Training and Legal Protection. Grey Beard has been a proud member of USCCA since November 2013 and highly recommends them to his readers.

Gun Talk

Principles of Self Defense – Proportionality

June 13, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 6 Mins Read

Grey Beard Biker’s last blog post on Principles of Self-Defense dealt with Imminence. This post will deal specifically with Proportionality – the third component of a successful self-defense claim if you use deadly force. In review, here are the five components which must all be answered affirmatively for you to prove you acted in self-defense:

From a law enforcement and legal perspective, pulling a gun during a fist fight would not be considered a proportional response. Doing so would fail the third component and would certainly put you at risk of being charged and spending time in prison. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a look at weapons that are always considered deadly:

Guns and other firearms
Bows
Crossbows

That is the entire list. So, would it be correct to assume only these projectile weapons are considered deadly? NO! Common items can be used as a contact weapon and be deadly: baseball bats, hammers, clubs, walking canes, bowling balls, bricks, tire irons, etc. Even one’s fists can be used to deadly effect if the attacker is much larger, he’s choking you or you are no longer able to defend yourself. But the use of any of these other weapons would have to clear the AOJ Triad hurdle in order to be considered deadly-force:

Ability – The attacker has the ability to cause death or grave bodily harm
Opportunity – The attacker can get to you with the force to cause death or grave bodily harm
Jeopardy – The attacker intends to do grave harm to you

As an example, if you were having an argument at a softball game with the batter and he poked you in the chest with his bat, he would have ability and opportunity. But unless he intended to attack you violently with it (jeopardy), you could not immediately resort to using deadly force. Your self-defense claim would fail the third leg of the triad.

Now, if you were approached in an alley by a thug carrying the same bat, and he gets in your face, saying he’s going to kill you, the shit-bag has ability, opportunity and there is most certainly jeopardy. In this scenario, your use of deadly force should be considered justified. But only if you are innocent. You cannot be the person who started the altercation, you have to be in a place you are legally allowed to be and the threat to your life has to be imminent.

The last thing which must be considered is escalation of force. If you are arguing with someone and they throw the first punch, you have the right to defend yourself with non-lethal force. Your fists would be the most logical response. But if you are overpowered and the attacker is on top of you, pounding you in the face, this could represent a deadly threat or an attack which could cause grave bodily harm – the amount of force has escalated and you have the should have the right to protect yourself with escalated force. But again, you must be the innocent party.

My son-in-law is a sheriff’s deputy in Florida. He carries roughly 25 pounds of gear on his belt when he is working. His defensive tools include pepper spray, a TASER and his service pistol. Law enforcement officers are trained to use what’s called the “continuum of force.” This would involve going up-and-down the ladder of lethality of their available tools. Their first tool is yelling, “Stop!” This is obviously everyone’s first tool. Next would be pepper spray, then their TASER and lastly their service pistol. Obviously, if they are experiencing an imminent threat from a gun wielding robber, they are not going to start by pulling out their pepper spray or yelling, “Stop!” But if, during a routine traffic stop, the person becomes belligerent, they may well go to the pepper spray and escalate force as necessary. This is a useful illustration because many civilians often carry only their fists and their firearm. And while some of you may carry a knife, as your lovable Grey Beard Biker always does, don’t fall into the potential legal trap of thinking it is considered less lethal than your pistol. If you are in close combat with a thug, pulling your knife is the same a pulling a gun and can certainly be considered an escalation of force. Remember, from a legal perspective, it is just a deadly as your gun.

**Darrel Ralph Designs**
Keychain Kubotan

So, what other non-lethal weapons should you consider carrying? Pepper spray is the most obvious. It is quite effective and will give you time to separate yourself from the bad guy and call 911. But pulling pepper spray may also be considered an escalation of force if the threat is not imminent. Case law in many states has shown that juries will convict a criminal of aggravated assault if they use pepper spray in the commission of a crime. So, remember, you must always be the innocent party before you do so. Another tool which you might consider is a key chain mounted kubotan. A kubotan is essentially a mini-club and is quite effective at taking the fight out of an attacker if used correctly. But training and speed are essential with such a tool. And again, you will still need to be the innocent party in order to justify your use of a kubotan – and it must be used only when an escalation of force is required.

In summary, you cannot use force that is not proportional to the force an attacker is using against you. During a fight, your attacker may escalate their force against you, and you may escalate proportionally to their force.

Watch for the next Grey Beard Biker blog post on Avoidance!

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Note: The Original Grey Beard Biker™️ ids not an attorney. While he has been involved in self-defense for many years, this article is provided for informational purposes only. Check with an attorney to understand your state’s laws.

This article was originally published in Thunder Roads Tennessee/Kentucky magazine and is used with permission. It was written by Michael Noirot – a/k/a the Grey Beard Biker.

Other articles in this series can be read by clicking on the following links:

**From Grey Beard Biker’s Friends at USA Carry! Like their website!**

Gun Talk

Principles of a Self Defense Claim – Imminence

June 3, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 6 Mins Read

Greetings, fellow bikers. This article deals with the second critical component of a self-defense claim: Imminence. The first column in this series dealt with Innocence and can be found HERE.

As stated in article one, the use of lethal force is justified if you are acting in self-defense, protecting yourself, your family, friends or another person. But in order for a self-defense claim to be successful, all of these components must be successfully proven:

In the event that you have responded to a situation with lethal force, you first need to be the innocent party – meaning you were not the aggressor or provocateur. Without innocence, your claim of self-defense will quickly fall apart. Next, there has to be imminence. A quick Google search of legal websites will lead you to Black’s Law Dictionary. Imminence relates to their discussion of homicide in self-defense and is defined as:

“….immediate danger, such as must be instantly met, such as cannot be guarded against by calling for the assistance of others or protection of the law…. such an appearance of threatened and impending injury as would put a reasonable and prudent man to his instant defense.” – Black’s Law Dictionary

In other words, you have to respond immediately to the threat or risk being seriously maimed, injured, disfigured or killed. Lethal force, or for that matter non-lethal force, used too early, or too late (after the threat is gone), will fail the imminence test.

Massad Ayoob has been training in self-defense principles for years and I have read several of his books, most recently, “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense.” Mas has written much on building a self-defense case and it might be helpful in our discussion on imminence to bring into play his concept of imminence, which is often referred to as the AOJ Triad: Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy.

Ability: Is your attacker able to hurt you?
Opportunity: Can the attacker get to you?
Jeopardy: Does the attacker, who has ability and opportunity, intend to use illegal force against you?

I will take a deeper dive into Ability in this series’ next article on proportionality, but it is worth mentioning now that anyone has the ability to hurt you. Be it with their fists, an impact weapon – like a knife or hammer – or with a gun. It is, however, germane to the next leg of the AOJ Triad, opportunity.

Opportunity relates specifically to whether or not the thug can get at you. If you are in your locked car, at a stoplight, and the thug approaches you with nothing more than his fists, yelling he is going to kill you, he does not have the opportunity to get at you. Using lethal force in this scenario will likely fail in a self-defense litmus test. However, if the same thug is coming at you with a large brick in his hand, he may well be able to get to you. The car, in the first scenario, can be an obstacle and obstacles are something you need to use to your advantage.

Let’s consider another scenario. You are walking to your car in a dark parking lot. You are being approached by a person that appears intent on doing you harm. Can you put an obstacle between you and the thug? Perhaps you can get behind a car in the parking lot and use it as a shield against a potential attack? In this scenario, immediately resorting to lethal force on the individual would be a bad idea.

Distance is also a consideration when speaking of opportunity. If the same thug is coming at you with a gun, distance becomes a non-issue since he can reach out to you with hot lead. But if he is brandishing a machete, distance is certainly an opportunity limitation. Granted, he might throw the machete at you, but he is unlikely to hurt you from more than a few yards away. The same holds true with other impact weapons like a hammer of a knife. But at what distance does the hammer or knife wielding thug become a substantial threat?

This is dependent on how quickly you can bring proportional force into play. A good rule of thumb is the Tueller Drill. Sergeant Dennis Tueller, of the Salt Lake City police department, came up with this drill by measuring how much ground a knife wielding attacker could cover in 1.5 seconds – the time it took an average police officer to un-holster his service pistol and accurately fire two rounds, center mass. Using many volunteers, Tueller came up with a distance of 21 feet. Your Tueller Drill distance will likely be greater than 21 feet since your ability to draw your pistol and fire two rounds accurately may well take longer than 1.5 seconds.

The last leg of the AOJ Triad is the most important – Jeopardy. Does the person intend to use illegal force against you? An armed police officer standing next to you has the ability and opportunity to hurt you. But the AOJ triad would fail because he does not intend to hurt you. However, a thug standing less than 21 feet away from you, brandishing a knife, does possess all of the elements of the AOJ Triad.

In review, if you are the innocent person, and there is an imminent threat of severe injury, or death, you have two of the five components of a self-defense claim.

Watch for the next blog post on Proportionality.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Note: Neither the Grey Beard Biker or Michael are an attorney. While he has been involved in self-defense for many years, this article is provided for informational purposes only. Check with an attorney to understand your state’s laws.

This article was originally published in Thunder Roads Tennessee/Kentucky magazine and is used with permission. It was written by Michael Noirot – a/k/a the Grey Beard Biker.

Other articles in this series can be read by clicking on the following links:

Gun Talk

Principles of a Self-Defense Claim – Innocence

May 31, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 6 Mins Read

Hello fellow bikers. If the proverbial “shit hits the fan,” and you have to use your firearm to protect yourself, you may find yourself in a world of legal trouble if the law believes you did not operate within some basic rules. Your freedom will inevitably require you to have a legitimate self-defense claim. There are five basic principles of a successful self-defense claim:

This particular blog post will focus on the first principle: Innocence

Your actions will have to satisfy all five of these principles for a successful self-defense claim. If they are present, you will prevail. If they are not all present, you may spend a very long time in prison. This month we will focus on Innocence.

Innocence

After the dust settles, you must be viewed as the innocent party. While this may seem easy enough to prove, there are many things which can happen which makes you the aggressor.

In an altercation, the aggressor is generally going to be viewed as the person who threw the first punch, brandished a knife or pulled a gun. In some states, words alone can cause you to be the aggressor. Tennessee’s laws are a bit vague with regards to who the aggressor is:

Tennessee 39-11-611

(e) The threat of force against another is not justified:

If the person using force consented to the exact force used or attempted by the other individual;
If the person using force provoked the other individual’s use or attempted use of unlawful force

Provocation is the key to Tennessee’s innocence claim and the fact that Tennessee has not clearly defined provocation, you must CLEARLY be the innocent party – not the provocateur.

Additionally, you can easily find yourself in a position where competing narratives of the event may portray you as the aggressor – especially if the witnesses are friends of the thug you were protecting yourself against. If this proves to be the case, an overzealous prosecutor may well pursue charges against you.

Proportionality, or the lack thereof, can also cause you to be viewed as the aggressor, not the innocent party. If the thug you are protecting yourself from throws the first punch, but you immediately escalate the encounter by pulling a concealed firearm, you will be in serious jeopardy of losing your innocence – and your claim of self-defense.

While the rules of being viewed as the aggressor vary from state-to-state, the Federal court system has simplified it somewhat with their finding:

“An affirmative, unlawful act reasonably calculated to produce an affray foreboding injurious or fatal consequences…” Michael J. Edwards v. United States

The keys to this are affirmative – meaning not accidental, unlawful – meaning well, unlawful and calculated to produce an affray – meaning the aggressor was the one who deliberately escalated the situation beyond what was necessary. And lastly, foreboding injurious or fatal consequences – meaning there was imminence that you are in serious risk of being maimed or killed. If it can be proven the thug exhibited these, your claim of innocence may be sustained and you will likely be cut loose and not face criminal prosecution.

There are a couple other actions which may cause you to lose your claim of innocence:

Pursuit/Sustainment – If you pursue or sustain the altercation you will no longer be considered the innocent party. In other words, if the thug decides fighting you is not in his best interest, and verbally communicates he is disengaging, and you try to sustain or further pursue him, you will become the aggressor.

Mutual Combat – If after a brush up with the aforementioned thug, you agree to meet him, or take the fight outside, you will have lost your innocence – and perhaps sunk your entire self-defense claim.

Escalation – This was mentioned earlier, and should be reinforced. If you find yourself in a fist fight, or a war of words, do not escalate the encounter beyond what it is – a nonlethal fight. If you pull your pistol at this point, you will be considered the aggressor or provocateur – meaning you are in serious trouble.

Now, if you find yourself in a position where you may have lost your innocence in the altercation, you may still be able to regain your innocence.

Tennessee 39-11-611(e)

The person using force abandons the encounter or clearly communicates to the other the intent to do so; and
The other person nonetheless continues or attempts to use unlawful force against the person

The Tennessee statue is clear here. You must attempt to disengage from the altercation and most importantly, you must verbally (preferably loud enough to be heard by everyone nearby) communicate your desire to end the affray. At this point, if the thug pursues the fight – or escalates it – you may well regain your innocence.

One other consideration you must keep in mind. Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs will sink a self-defense claim. If you are planning on enjoying some adult beverages, leave your gun at home – or locked up where you cannot gain access to it. If you are under the influence and find yourself in a life-or-death situation, your best defense is not going on the offense. If you pull your sidearm under these conditions – even if you are the innocent – you are in serious legal jeopardy. If you have your weapon you must make the choice between potential death and a very long incarceration. But you risk much if you put yourself in this situation.

Watch for the next blog post on Imminence.

Molon Labe,
The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Note: Neither the Grey Beard Biker or Michael are an attorney. While he has been involved in self-defense for many years, this article is provided for informational purposes only. Check with an attorney to understand your state’s laws.

This article was originally published in Thunder Roads Tennessee/Kentucky magazine and is used with permission. It was written by Michael Noirot – a/k/a the Grey Beard Biker.

Other articles in this series can be read by clicking on the following links:

Gun Talk

Situational Awareness

May 31, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 5 Mins Read

If you are reading this, you are most likely a defender of our Second Amendment. You may even conceal carry a handgun when you leave the house. If so, congratulations on taking your safety, and the safety of your family and friends seriously. We all know that the best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. But do not fall into the same trap many people do: that carrying a handgun makes you “bullet-proof.” It simply does not.

In fact, if you have become lazy because of that gun on your hip, you may be in more danger than an unarmed citizen who is very vigilant. Vigilance is the key to your safety and those with you – and vigilance starts with situational awareness.

According to Wikipedia, Situational Awareness is defined as:

“…the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status after some variable has changed, such as time, or some other variable, such as a predetermined event.”

And while situational awareness is a key component to riding a motorcycle safely – Eg. Is that car approaching from the side road going to run the stop sign and pull out in front of me? – many riders leave their situational awareness with their helmets when they climb off their scoot. In other words, they become unaware of everything going on around themselves.

Increasing your situational awareness starts with PAYING ATTENTION! Pay attention to everything going on around you. If you are like many people, that smart phone you are self-absorbed in is putting you at risk. Do not walk around in public with all of your attention focused on your social media networks. I have walked up to friends who are on their iPhone and greeted them several times before they were even aware I was there. That same person will never be able to defend against an attack by a thug if they are only paying attention to liking their friends’ Facebook posts.

It would be helpful to look at the way a thug intent on doing harm thinks. First, you must think of these people as being like a tiger which is stalking their next meal. Like that tiger, they purposely scope out the weakest animal in a pack before they spring forward to attack. Shit-bag thugs do the same thing. If they are going to commit an armed robbery they will look for the softest of targets – that person least likely to defend themselves when they spring forward to attack. Perhaps it’s that person peering intently into their smartphone. Perhaps it’s that person walking along the dark sidewalk talking to their girlfriend on the phone. Or perhaps it’s that person in the restaurant sitting with their back to everyone else. These are their easiest targets – those who due to their total lack of situational awareness have left themselves the most vulnerable – and least likely to be able to fight back. Even if they are packing a concealed handgun, they will be unable to act quickly enough to use it in their defense – and may even have their gun taken away from them and used against them.

Here are some suggestions which will help you increase your situational awareness:

Avoid dangerous areas – Do not put yourself into a situation where you will be more likely to have to defend yourself.
Remove your smartphone from your consciousness when you are in a public place. It is okay, even preferable, to have it with you, but your attention should not be focused on it.
If you are walking into your corner gas station put your phone in your pocket. Look around the establishment before you enter. Is it well lit? How many people are in there? Are there any people who look dangerous? (Yes, it is okay for you to profile people.) What can you use for a barrier if the proverbial “shit-hits-the-fan?” Where are the exits? Have you examined the people present well enough to describe them for a police report? If not, you are not situationally aware of your surroundings.
Do not sit where you have blind spots. Avoid sitting with your back to everyone else in that restaurant. I personally like to find a corner table and have my back to the corner.
Events change and you need to change with them. Closely examine newcomers entering the restaurant, pub or gas station.
Most importantly remove anything which can become a distraction.

The more you practice situational awareness, the easier it becomes. Be aware of the people around you. Be aware of the structure you are in. Search out exits. Scan faces. Stay away from dark areas where you can easily be ambushed. Do not ever become the prey because your concentration is elsewhere.

Molon Labe,
The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

This article was originally published in Thunder Roads Tennessee/Kentucky magazine and is used with permission. It was written by Michael Noirot – a/k/a the Grey Beard Biker.