Evolution Not the motor, but how things have changed…

Reprinted from the April 2009 issue of Hoosier Motorcyclist magazine

I was talking to Balls at the Expo and he was talking about how the show had changed, and how ABATE has come along over the years, how our presence at the Expo had evolved through the years; how Rider Education had exploded since Jay had taken the reigns; things we have done well and things we could do better and ideas we thought were a good idea at the time.
This got me to thinking about how and why we make changes. Always with the best intentions and not always thinking about the unintended consequences. An example is the Consumer Product Safety Commission and their decision on lead content in children’s toys and the resulted banning of small motorcycles and ATVs for children 12 years of age and under.

ABATE has evolved over the years from a small group of highly motivated individuals striving to get the attention of our legislators into the largest State Motorcyclists' Rights Organizations in the country that our legislators want to be seen with. This type of attention brings on added responsibilities, whether we want them or not.

Since Balls got Rider Education going in the early years Indiana’s program and its collaboration with the Department of Education has evolved into a model that is envied throughout the country. This has brought additional scrutiny and added responsibilities beyond the classroom.

Everyday you make decisions about your future, your family’s future, your future at your job. Always trying to think through each decision and looking at all the possibilities, those unintended consequences if you will.

As an organization we are constantly growing and evolving, taking on additional responsibilities in the motorcycling community, as an unintended consequence we have become the leader in Motorcycle Rights and Motorcycle Education, not because we planned it that way, but because we EVOLVED.

Ride Free, Ride Safe, Ride Straight,
Gary D. Williams
Operations Director
ABATE of Indiana, Inc.