National Motor Club Releases Safety Tips for Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month
Spring is a time for dusting off your motorcycle and going for a ride. The National Motor Club (NMC), one of the country’s largest independent motor club, wants to help prevent another springtime event, the uptick in motorcycle related accidents. Car driver’s skills related to looking for motorcycles are rusty after a long winter without bikes on the road. So, as part of Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month, NMC has released a series of safety tips for car drivers – and motorcyclists.
“Motorcyclists will be out in force as the weather gets warmer, which is why May is the perfect time for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month,” said Matt Krzysiak, CEO of National Motor Club. “We have observed that fatal crashes involving motorcycles are on the rise, and helmet usage is on the decline. These facts are disturbing, to say the least. Our company believes in promoting and sharing information about safe driving, so we are urging everyone to be more aware of motorcyclists while driving, in order to save lives.”
Since education and preventing accidents is the best way to minimize injuries, NMC has formulated a number of email and social media alerts to be shared with drivers and riders alike. The basis for these alerts is troubling data:
- Motorcycle traffic deaths have increased since 2010
- The deaths account for 15% of total highway fatalities
- The number of motorcyclists injured on the road has increased since 2010
- Helmet usage is declining
- Helmet use saves lives and increasing helmet usage will save more lives
To help motorcyclists not become negative statistics, NMC urges drivers and riders to:
- Remember that driving/riding is the most important thing you’re doing at that time.
- Avoid unnecessary distractions.
- Watch for road hazards and remember that motorcycles are more susceptible to them than cars
- Give motorcycles the whole lane. Don’t crowd them.
- Check your mirrors and blind spot before changing lanes. Motorcycles are much smaller than cars.
- Allow proper following distance behind motorcycles.
Additionally, motorcyclists should:
- Always use turn signals for lane changes or turns.
- Position yourself in the lane for better conspicuity.
- Be aware of the weather and sit out any if the weather gets to intense.
If we all follow these simple rules, NMC hopes to reduce motorcycle injury statistics, and that’s something we should all support.
For more information, visit the National Motor Club’s website.
[Source: NMC]
Like most of the best happenings in his life, Evans stumbled into his motojournalism career. While on his way to a planned life in academia, he applied for a job at a motorcycle magazine, thinking he’d get the opportunity to write some freelance articles. Instead, he was offered a full-time job in which he discovered he could actually get paid to ride other people’s motorcycles – and he’s never looked back. Over the 25 years he’s been in the motorcycle industry, Evans has written two books, 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and How to Modify Your Metric Cruiser, and has ridden just about every production motorcycle manufactured. Evans has a deep love of motorcycles and believes they are a force for good in the world.
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