Our View: Cars and bikes on the blacktop

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_15121748
Our View: Cars and bikes on the blacktop Posted: 05/19/2010 08:15:29 PM PDT
It's every motorist's almost-nightmare.
You are cruising at freeway speed in traffic looking to pass when coming out of your blind spot you notice a motorcycle rider between your car and the ones a few feet away in the fast lane. With your heart in your throat, you swing the wheel and quickly end that lane change.
That's just one of the potential motorcycle vs. car disaster scenarios that are all too common. With warmer weather coming - good riding weather - combined with local freeway construction projects adding driving hazards, the potential is there for more motorcycle fatalities. It's time the driver safety teachers for both automobile operators and motorcycle riders emphasize how to avoid such collisions.
We applaud the stepped-up motorcycle-safety efforts organized this month by the CHP, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, local police departments and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. They've come together to help stop these two freeway fliers from getting together. But more needs to be done to bring down the record number of motorcycle deaths occurring on Los Angeles County roads.
In 2008, Los Angeles County recorded 111 motorcyclists killed in traffic accidents. In the state that year, 586 motorcyclists were killed; in the country, a record-high 5,290 motorcycle deaths were reported.
While nationally, the number of motorcyclists killed in 2009 dropped by at least 10 percent from the year before, local conditions and an improving economy may alter that trend this year. Some things have to change or we'll be seeing record numbers of motorcycle accidents and deaths again this year.
First, safety officials said half of all riders today have never taken a training course. That number has to go up, and perhaps the Legislature should tighten this requirement before licensing.
The second reason for motorcycle deaths is also the main reason for automobile fatalities: alcohol. Since driving while impaired is already against the law, more education and reminders against drinking and driving will help.
Motorcycle riders and automobile drivers must remember they share the road, even on a heavily trafficked freeway. For car drivers, they must keep in the back of their heads the possibility of a motorcycle riding in their blind spot. It's a fact that motorcycles are more difficult to spot than other automobiles. Please, drive defensively and use turn signals.
Since more motorcycle riders are older these days, we've been seeing the age of riders killed going up as well. A 53-year-old Glendora man was killed on an under-repair San Bernardino (10) Freeway two months ago when he lost control of his bike while riding on an uneven roadway. Many of our local freeways are being widened or resurfaced, so extra care is needed while driving them.
Smooth or rough road, day or night, we want to avoid those motorcycle-car full-on nightmares. So do you.