Agencies Highlight Motorcycle Safety Awareness

Nashville, Tennessee — May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.  The Tennessee Department of Safety, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Governor’s Highway Safety Office and the Motorcycle Awareness Foundation of Tennessee encourage motorcycle riders and drivers to “Share the Road” and hosted a Motorcycle Awareness Day event at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville on Saturday May 10, 2008.

“With the warmer weather here, more motorcycles are on the road, and that means drivers need to be more alert,” stated Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell.   “We have done a good job in reducing the number of vehicle fatalities in recent years, but the same can’t be said about crashes involving motorcycles. The number of motorcycle fatalities in Tennessee has more than doubled in the last 7 years.  We want all riders and drivers to share the road and help reduce that trend.”

The number of motorcycle fatalities in Tennessee jumped from 42 in 1998 to 148 in 2007. View Statistics for 1998-2007 and a list of Motorcycle Safety Tips.

“This steady increase over the past decade represents one of our greatest highway safety challenges,” said Governor’s Highway Safety Office Director Kendell Poole.  “When you consider that one out of every nine deadly crashes last year involved a motorcycle rider, it is clear that drivers need to be extra cautious.”

Motorcyclists have responsibilities too.  Riders must follow the rules of the road and always wear protective gear.   Tennessee law requires all motorcycle drivers and passengers to wear approved helmets and protective eyewear.

Approximately 275,000 Tennesseans are licensed to operate motorcycles.  “Motorcycles are becoming more popular, but cyclists must understand that riding a motorcycle is different than driving a car,” said John Milliken, the state coordinator of Tennessee’s Motorcycle Rider Education Program. “It’s imperative that motorcyclists educate themselves by taking an accredited training course and never ride beyond their skill ability.”

The Department of Safety’s Motorcycle Rider Education Program approves courses and instructors across the state. A list of approved courses in Tennessee is attached to this release.  To find out more about the program, go to: http://tennessee.gov/safety/mrep.htm
To find out more information about the Motorcycle Awareness Foundation of Tennessee, go to www.maft.us

FACT SHEET

• Since 1997, national motorcycle fatalities have increased 127 percent.
• The number of motorcycle deaths every year is more than double the number of people killed in all aviation, rail, marine and pipeline accidents combined.
• 4,810 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2006 nationwide. Approximately 41 percent of those killed were not wearing a helmet.
• Twenty states, including Tennessee, and the District of Columbia have universal helmet laws.
• Twenty-seven states have partial helmet laws.
• Three states (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire) do not have any helmet law.