5 Step System to Safer Riding | Top of the World on the Dalton Highway

Space means safety on the road, and in this episode we talk about 5 simple and effective keys that have been used in commercial trucking for decades. Shawn Kitchen, a Driver Trainer from Smith System explains how these keys can be used when riding your motorcycle. And Phil Freeman from Motoquest in Alaska shares tips on riding the Dalton Highway, one of the most remote roads in the world.

How the Smith System Can be Applied to Motorcycle Riding

Since 1952, the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute has been providing collision avoidance driver training. Shawn Kitchen is a Driver Trainer, having completed a course with Smith System, and he's also a motorcyclist. The 5Keys used in their driving training program is applied to small and large vehicles as well as utility trucks. Shawn joins us on this episode to explain how these driving techniques can also be applied to riding a motorcycle.

Riding Tips for the Dalton Highway in Alaska

If you're thinking of riding the Dalton Highway in Alaska, Phil Freeman from Motoquest has some tips to help you make the trip as safe as possible. Motoquest is a motorcycle rental and tour company based out of Alaska. Phil started doing trips in 1998 in Alaska, and has since branched out in to other parts of the world, running trips in over 20 countries.

We contacted Phil when we were looking for tips on riding the Dalton Highway. On his website, he has the 10 Do's and Don'ts of the Dalton, and in an excerpt from it Phil says,

“414 miles of frost-heaves, broken chip seal and grated dirt surfaces, the Dalton Highway has its challenges. On a good day, you can ride it wide open. On a bad day, you can go home in a helicopter.

Every year motorcyclists are killed on the Dalton Highway. This road offers the rider the adventure gamut. Almost half of the highway is paved or chip sealed. The other half can be smooth or baseballs. There are relatively no places to stop along the way: no gas, no convenient stores, no McDonalds. There are stretches of up to 245 miles without gas. You are literally riding through pristine wilderness. There are no tire shops or police stations. A wrecker to the Arctic Circle from Fairbanks is a $1,600 bill. Dalton Highway, mile marker 300: Welcome to the food chain.”

Some music on this episode by Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com

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