Ride Captain Requirements

    While the Star Riders - Houston Area Chapter solicits the membership for Ride Captains, we also request that certain requirements be met before taking the membership on a ride. In the interest of everyone's safety, the Ride Captains should review the Rules for Group Riding as defined on this site preferably a couple of weeks or more before the ride. Some general guidelines to follow in filling a Ride Captain slot are:

1. Ride Captains should be thoroughly familiar with the group riding rules, hand signals, and personal responsibilities involved in leading a large group of motorcyclists on the road.
2. Ride Captains are encouraged to intimately know the riding habits of the membership for proper placement of members during the ride. Get to know each members riding history and personal riding habits. Good Ride Captains will also ask before a ride, who is medically knowledgeable of emergency first aid procedures in the event a rider should be involved in an accident. Should there be a need for them, it is nice to know before hand who can assist in emergency treatment of the downed rider. Riders who are not familiar with emergency first aid should be discouraged in assisting in the emergency treatment of a accident victim unless absolutely necessary to avoid further injury.
3. Ride Captains are to place new riders as close to the front as possible.
4. Ride Captains, Tail Gunners, and Safety Coordinators should be versed in standard emergency first aid.
5. Ride Captains are to remind any member of the chapter, or rider, of proper safe riding techniques. If one member flagrantly endangers the group through unsafe riding practices, it is the responsibility of the Ride Captain, Tail Gunner or Ride Safety Coordinator to remove the member from the ride. The Ride Captain, Tail Gunner or Safety Coordinator have the authority invested by the chapter administration to stop a ride should conditions warrant it.
6. Ride Captains are responsible for the selection of the Tail Gunner. This should be accomplished as soon as possible before the ride begins so that the Ride Captain and Tail Gunner can discuss issues and their solutions in advance of the ride date.
7. Ride Captains, Tail Gunners, and Safety Coordinators should casually inspect the bikes participating before the ride for apparent damage, wear, or malfunctions that could endanger the rider or membership. Should a riders bike be found to be in such a state as to be unsafe to ride with the group or as an individual, the rider is to be notified that he or she will not be allowed to make the ride and the reasons why. If the condition is remedied by the time the ride begins then the rider may continue on the ride.
8. Ride Captains should distribute a sign in sheet before the start of each ride so that a record of the participants of the rides can be kept on file.
9. The Ride Captain should preferably be a person with significant riding ability and years of riding experience since he will have to gauge the passing of merges, highway entrances / exits, to maintain the maximum safety buffer for the entire group.
10. Remember - Lives are in your hands!!! so be a responsible Ride Captain.

All ride directions come from the Ride Captain. The Ride Captain makes all the decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel, closing of gaps, turning off exits, etc. NO individual will assert himself independently without the direction of the Ride Captain except the Safety Coordinator and then only if safety concerns are at stake.