It’s almost springtime in Pennsylvania. The temperature outside is getting warmer and whatever snow is left on the ground is beginning to melt. People will start to see more animals out and birds will be chirping.
Spring is also the time of year when people are sick of being stuck inside and take every opportunity available to spend time outside. That also means that more motorcycle owners are hopping on their bikes and going for rides. In fact, last weekend hundreds of thousands of bike riders rode south for Bike Week. But with all the riders coming from all across the country, one of the major concerns was motorcycle accidents.
According to the American Automobile Association, statistics show that motorcycle riders are most fearful of not being seen by other drivers, especially distracted drivers. A number of motorcycle crashes are caused by another motorist, not another motorcyclist.
This could be due to the fact that motorcycles are smaller motor vehicles when compared to the vehicles that share the road. Especially when the vehicle is an SUV or a large truck, drivers may not be paying enough attention to realize that there is a motorcycle in the adjacent lane. This can be particularly dangerous if the larger vehicle is trying to change lanes or pass a vehicle in front of them.
One state has started a motorcycle awareness campaign to address the safety of the motorcyclists traveling through for Bike Week. The reasoning behind the campaign is to encourage drivers to be more aware of motorcycles on the road, which in turn could hopefully reduce the overall number of motorcycle crashes.
Source: The Cedartown Standard online, “Georgians asked to keep an eye out for bike riders as spring approaches,” 07 March 2011