May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and Monmouth Police Chief Joe Switzer wants citizens to be alert and aware of the possibility of sharing the road with motorcycles.
“They’re smaller than the other vehicles, and you aren’t looking for them. They’re going to be harder to see. I think that is what causes most of the accidents is, someone not being aware that there is a motorcycle next to them or there is a motorcycle stopped in front them to turn … that type of thing,” Switzer stated.
According to the National Safety Council, nearly 5,000 riders and passengers died on motorcycles in the United States in 2015; 35 percent of all fatalities in 2015 were riders 50 and older, with many of them labeled as so-called “re-entry riders.” That is, riders that rode during their younger years who decided to hop back on the back at an older age, only to find there are added challenges to riding today: more traffic, more powerful bikes, more distracted drivers, and diminished physical skills.
This week is also Distracted Driving Awareness Week in Illinois. Every day, 10 drivers are killed due to distracted driving in the United States. 37,000 people were killed in crashes on U.S. roadways in 2016. This is your friendly reminder to keep your eyes on the road – and not on your phone – while driving!
written by Jackson Kane
