• 15
  • July
    2011

A motorcyclist is 35 times more likely to die in a crash than drivers of cars or other passenger vehicles are in a car accident, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In Texas, one-third of all fatal motorcycle accidents happen when a passenger vehicle turns left in front of an oncoming motorcycle. Drivers of the cars often claim that they never saw the motorcycle before the collision. But could it be that they aren't looking closely enough?

Even as fatal crashes overall have declined in Texas, motorcycle crashes involving the death or serious injury of the cyclist are on the rise. One reason is that more and more Texans are riding motorcycles: The number of cycles registered in Texas more than doubled in the decade between 2000 and 2010, from about 180,000 to nearly 425,000.

Seeing them is saving them

Motorcycles have the same rights on the roadway as any other motor vehicle, but they can be harder to see because their profile is so much smaller than a car. The Texas Department of Transportation launched a campaign as part of its Share the Road Initiative, asking drivers to "Look Twice" for motorcyclists at intersections and before changing lanes on highways.

The department also recommends these tips for safely sharing the road with motorcycles:

•· Don't follow a motorcycle too closely. The rider may need to maneuver around wet patches, potholes or other obstructions, and you need time to figure out what they're doing so you can react. Is that cyclist changing lanes or just swerving around that puddle?

•· Don't try to use part of a lane being used by a motorcycle as a passing lane or for any other purpose. Give the cyclist the full width of his or her lane for safety.

•· Use your directional signals before changing lanes or turning to give motorcyclists time to react.

•· Look twice - at least - before turning or passing when you think a motorcycle might be behind you. Because they're smaller, motorcycles don't always appear in your review mirror.

Source: www.looklearnlive.org