Motorists asked to share roadway with motorcycles

Because May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, traffic safety officials with the WisDOT, are asking all motor vehicle operators to share the road, be alert and safe. About 550,000 Wisconsin residents hold a motorcycle license.

“Because of their smaller profile, it’s easy to misjudge the speed and distance of an approaching motorcycle,” said David Pabst, director of the WisDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety. “That’s why we ask car and truck drivers to look twice at motorcycles, before pulling out from a stop sign, turning left at an intersection or changing lanes.”

Last year in Wisconsin, there were 1,799 motorcycle crashes, in which 1,532 motorcyclists were injured and 81 were killed. Safety on the roadways requires that everyone do their part.

Motorcyclists should wear all the gear, all the time, including visible and protective equipment. They should also anticipate potential problems, by focusing on the road ahead. Gravel or other debris on roadways present special challenges for motorcyclists.

Motorcyclists also need to be properly licensed and should consider taking a motorcycle safety course.

“Safe motorcycling requires unique physical skills and mental concentration,” said Pabst. “One trend we see, is middle-aged people who drove a motorcycle many years ago, then resume riding on a cycle that’s larger and more powerful.”

As a group, the motorcycling community is aging. The average age of a motorcyclist involved in a fatal crash, increased from 30 years old in 1992, to 45 years old in 2019.