Sacramento, CA…As motorcycle fatalities and injuries have increased in California, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) have stepped up their efforts to promote safety and education, highlighted by Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May. In 2013, motorcycle collisions resulted in 475 fatalities and 13,143 injured victims. In 2012, 467 people were killed and 12,617 were injured. Nationwide, motorcyclists made up 14 percent of all vehicle-related fatalities in 2013, up from about 9 percent in 2004, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurviving the ride must be foremost in the mind of every motorcyclist. This means taking a motorcycle safety course, wearing the proper gear, using a Department of Transportation compliant helmet and staying alert,\u201d CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. \u201cEvery vehicle has its place on the road, but motorcyclists face additional dangers because motorcycles require exceptional handling ability and are more difficult to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month \u2013 and throughout the year \u2013 all road users are reminded to safely “share the road” with motorcyclists, and to be extra alert to help keep motorcyclists safe. That message is most important in California, which is home to more than 830,000 registered motorcycles \u2013 the most of any state \u2013 and more than 1.4 million motorcycle riders.
\n\u201cCalifornians increasingly get around by means other than cars and trucks. More are bicycling, walking, taking mass transit and motorcycling,\u201d said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. \u201cThat also means that everyone needs to be extra cautious and looking out for everyone else, no matter what their means of transportation is.\u201d<\/p>\n
By participating in three major statewide events in May, the CHP will promote safety to thousands of motorcyclists. The Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month events include:<\/p>\n
May 2-3: Bay Area Motorcycle Show, Alameda County Fairgrounds, Alameda May 21: Motorcycle Night with the River Cats, Raley Field, Sacramento<\/p>\n
May 25: West Coast Thunder Memorial Day Bike Run, Riverside
\nMore than 7,500 motorcyclists participate in the ride to raise funds for Riverside National Cemetery, specifically to support the burial of indigent and homeless veterans.
\nThe CHP is statutorily responsible for California’s official motorcycle safety training program. The California Motorcyclist Safety Program (CMSP) trains approximately 65,000 motorcyclists every year. As of July 2014, nearly 945,000 motorcycle riders have received training at one of the authorized CMSP training sites since the program began in 1987. For more information or to find a training site near you, go to www.californiamotorcyclist.com.<\/p>\n
IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDERS FOR MOTORCYCLISTS
\n\uf0b7 Wear the proper safety gear at all times, including a DOT-compliant helmet
\n\uf0b7 Obey the speed limit \u2013 excess speed is the most common rider-related factor in motorcycle related crashes
\n\uf0b7 Don\u2019t drink and ride \u2013 DUI is a leading cause of motorcycle crashes
\n\uf0b7 Ride within your own limits \u2013 don\u2019t be a victim of peer pressure
\n\uf0b7 Ride defensively \u2013 assume other drivers don\u2019t see you
\n\uf0b7 Survive the ride
\nThe mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security to the people of California.
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Sacramento, CA…As motorcycle fatalities and injuries have increased in California, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) have stepped up their efforts to promote safety and education, highlighted by Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May. In 2013, motorcycle collisions resulted in 475 fatalities and 13,143 injured victims. In 2012, 467 people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6,20,16,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-copperopolis","category-education","category-featured","category-law-enforcement","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/chplogo.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}