The purpose of riding in an organized group instead of an undisciplined pack is to provide the additional
safety that a well-organized group inherently generates. This comes from within the group and from the
outside. When a group rides in an orderly fashion, people don't get in each other's way, and the
organization of the formation itself discourages cars from attempting to cut in. I have even seen trucks
move to the far side of their lane to minimize wind blast when they see a well-ordered formation "single
up" and move as far away from the truck as their lane allows.
Once riding rules have been adopted by a club, EVERYONE riding with the club is expected to follow
them. Anyone violating the rules, and compromising everyone else's safety, will be warned, and if their
actions continue, will no longer be welcome to ride with the club.
The following rules are compiled from a number of sources. Most clubs that ride in orderly formations
follow similar rules. Details may vary from one club to another, sometimes because of the style of riding
they do, or sometimes because there are a number of reasonable options, so they chose the one they
prefer.
Formation
Riding will be in a standard State Patrol (staggered) formation. In staggered formation, the
bikes form two columns, with the leader at the head of the left column, so he will be able to view all
bikes in the formation in his/her rearview mirrors, and be able to see around vehicles the group
approaches. The second bike will head the right column, and will ride approximately 1 second behind
the leader (and in the opposite side of the lane). The other riders will position their bikes 2 seconds
behind the bike directly in front of them, which puts them 1 second behind the diagonal bike. This
formation allows each rider sufficient safety space, and discourages other vehicles from cutting into the
line. The last rider, or Tail Gunner, may ride on whichever side of the lane he prefers. He will have to
change sides during the ride, based on the situation at the moment.
Ride Leader
The Ride Leader must be aware of the length of the columns, and must gauge the
passing of merges, highway entrances and exits, etc., to allow for maximum safety and keeping the
group together. He must make sure that he leaves enough time/space for the formation to get into the
appropriate lanes before exits, etc. All directions come from the Ride Leader. The Ride Leader makes
all decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel, closing of gaps, turning off at exits,
any concerns of what lies ahead, accepting/rejecting radioed messages from other individuals, and so
on. No individual will assert himself independently without direction from the Ride Leader to do so.
Tail Gunner
The Tail Gunner serves as the eyes of the Ride Leader. He watches the formation, and
informs the Ride Leader of any potential problems within the group. He watches other vehicles, and
informs the Ride Leader (and anyone else with radios) of hazardous conditions approaching from the
rear, such as vehicles trying to cut into the formation and trucks passing with potentially
dangerous wind blasts. He will watch for merging lanes, and will move into a merging lane (or stay in a
merging lane just vacated by the group) in order to "close the door" on other vehicles that may otherwise
find themselves trying to merge into the formation. At the Ride Leader's request, the Tail Gunner
changes lanes before the formation, to secure the lane so the formation can move into it.
New Riders
The position of new (inexperienced with GROUP riding) riders within the group is
significant. New riders should be positioned as close to the front as possible.
Lane Changes
All lane changing starts with a radio request from the Ride Leader to the Tail
Gunner. The Tail Gunner will (when it is safe to do so) move into the requested lane and will inform the
Ride Leader when the lane is clear.
At this point, the Ride Leader has three options:
A.Simple Lane Change
This is an ordinary lane change, and can be used in most situations.
After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal
as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional
signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then initiates
the change. All other riders change lanes too. The important concept is that NO ONE moves until
the bike in front of him has started moving.
B.Block Lane Change
This can be used interchangeably with the Simple Lane Change. It
requires a little more work, but it is well worth the effort. It's quite impressive to watch, and gives
the riders a tremendous feeling of "togetherness". This sounds a little complicated, but is
actually very simple to do.
After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal
as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional
signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then raises his
left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to
the lane into which he's moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms
at the same time and change lanes too. This allows the entire formation to move from one lane to
another as a single block.
C.Rear Fill-in
This is sometimes necessary if a long enough gap cannot be maintained in the new
lane, for example when trying to move from the right lane to the center and vehicles from the left
lane keep cutting into the opening.
After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the leader (usually at the suggestion of the Tail
Gunner) will call for the group to fill in the space from the rear. He signals this by raising his hand
to shoulder height and "pushing" it towards the new lane. All riders repeat the signal, and the last
bikes move into the space in the new lane ahead of the Tail Gunner, then the next-to-last bikes
move in ahead of those, and so on until the Ride Leader finally moves into the space ahead of the
entire formation.
Emergencies
In the unlikely event of an emergency condition, the Ride Leader will make every attempt to move the formation to the shoulder in an orderly manner. If a bike breaks down, let the rider move to
the right. DO NOT STOP. The Tail Gunner will stop with the problem bike. The Ride Leader will
lead the group to a safe stopping place.
Tolls
The Ride Leader should be aware of tolls and collect money from all riders in advance. When the
formation arrives at the toll booth, the Ride Leader pays for all bikes, and all bikes proceed
through the toll. Many toll booths have counters that count the number of vehicles coming
through. To accommodate these, ride through the toll booth one at a time. If some people in the group
are using EZ Pass, they will split out from the group, and the formation will reform on the other side of
the toll booth. Make sure the Ride Leader knows in advance how many bikes he is paying the toll for.
Hand Signals
Each rider (and passenger) should duplicate all hand signals given by the rider in front
Of him, so that the signals get passed all the way to the back of the formation. The following signals are
used in addition to the standard (right turn, left turn, slow/stop) hand signals.
Block Lane Change
The leader (after having the Tail Gunner secure the lane) raises his left arm straight up. Each
rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which he's
moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and
change lanes too.
Fill in from rear
After having the Tail Gunner secure the lane and putting on his directional signal (which is
repeated by each rider), the Ride Leader raises his left hand to his shoulder and "pushes" his
open hand toward the lane into which he wants to move. This signal is repeated by all riders, and
each rider in turn, rearmost first, moves into the space ahead of the riders behind them.
Single up
When conditions warrant single file (narrow road, anticipated wind-blast from trucks, obstruction,
pedestrians, etc.) the Ride Leader will raise his left hand straight up, holding up just his index
finger. All other riders will repeat this, and the two columns will merge into one.
Staggered Formation
After singling up, when single file is no longer necessary, the Ride Leader will raise his left hand
with thumb and pinky out, other fingers closed, rotating his wrist back and forth (indicating left,
right, left, right). All other riders will repeat this and resume staggered formation.
Rules For Safe Group Riding
Web Master
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