December, 2004

An Open Letter to Motorcyclist Ron Waguespack

Dear Ron...

Losing you to a careless driver seems to be the irony of ironies. In 2003, you and your wife, Joanne, are terribly injured by a careless driver in the same accident that claimed the lives of Jim and Nancy Alton, two other motorcyclists. Then, just over a year later, you are taken from us by another careless driver. But we just want you and others to know how much we value what you did with that final year of life you were given.

Because of a few like you who did more than just say, "something ought to be done", the Motorcycle Awareness Campaign is now a reality. And you became its first Treasurer and a member of its first Board of Directors.

A non-profit organization dedicated to "promoting awareness and safety of motorcyclists on Louisiana roadways", M.A.C. ( <http://www.motorcycleawarenesscampaign.org/>
www.motorcycleawarenesscampaign.org) already has members from nine different motorcycle groups, and will soon be joined by car drivers and others who see the terrible cost of "unawareness" on our roads and highways.

You knew so well--and reminded us all--that more than just the victims of a moment's inattention are included in the cost of these wrecks. The lives of the driver, their families, the families of the victims and those who knew them are all changed forever in a terrible way. Your own family is now picking up the pieces and trying to live life without you.
The driver whose car killed you is only 20 years old. What an unimaginable weight must that person now carry, living out their entire life never forgetting that a moment of inattention on the road ended another person's life.

But it is a horror that can be prevented...by education, by legislation and by heightened awareness. And these are the goals of M.A.C., the new organization that you helped bring into existence.

M.A.C. already has active support from some State legislators, from many in law enforcement and hopefully, in time, from our Governor, who was so quick to push through a helmet law to "protect" motorcyclists. We hope she will recognize, as you did, that much much more than just helmets is needed to protect motorcyclists. Hopefully, she will be made aware of your efforts and the efforts of those like you. And hopefully, she will also become a strong and active advocate of M.A.C. and its goals. Perhaps even a member.

Your untiring efforts to "do something" to help make motorcyclists safer on our roadways by raising the level of awareness and safety here in Louisiana has touched us all. And hopefully, this will save many lives in the years ahead; not just the lives of motorcyclists but of others as well.

And as you so often pointed out, motorcyclists are not a group in isolation from the rest of us. Motorcyclists are our neighbors, our fathers, our mothers, sisters, brothers, children, grand-children, extended families, and friends.

You served your country in the Navy, you served your Faith, you served your family as a husband and father, and you served your fellow motorcyclists and other drivers. And you did it well, Ron.

We thank you. And we will never forget you or your efforts. And we will continue the work before us.

Signed:

A car driver and motorcycle rider who had the honor and the pleasure of knowing Ron Waguespack