CALIFORNIA: Riverside Police Department Working To Improve Motorcycle Safety

OFF THE WIRE

PRESS RELEASE
Riverside Police Department 4102 Orange Street Riverside, CA 92501
Phone (951) 826-5275 Fax (951) 826-5939

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, June 30, 2011

CONTACT:
Sergeant Skip Showalter
(951) 351-6046
sshowalter@riversideca.gov

Riverside Police Department Working To Improve Motorcycle Safety

Police to increase enforcement aimed at dangerous riders and careless
motorists
The Riverside Police Department will be conducting a specialized Motorcycle
Safety Enforcement Operation on September 3, 2011, in an effort to continue
lowering deaths and injuries. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling
areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur.
Officers will be looking for drivers and riders who are under the influence
of drugs or alcohol and cracking down on traffic violations made by
motorcyclists as well as other vehicle drivers that can lead to motorcycle
collisions, injuries and fatalities.

While motorcycle fatalities had been on the rise in California, increasing
175 percent in the last decade, from 204 killed in 1998 to 560 killed in
2008, the trend has changed. In 2009, California experienced a 29.6 percent
reduction with 394 motorcyclists killed, and preliminary 2010 numbers
indicate another 10 percent drop to 353 motorcyclists killed.

In a five year span from 2006 to 2010, the city of Riverside accrued a total
of 9 fatalities and 276 injuries from motorcycle crashes.

California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved
crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and
other drugs. The Riverside Police Department is also reminding all motorists
to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning
and changing lanes.

Some of the reduction in riders killed can be attributed to fewer improperly
licensed riders. In 2008, 62.7 percent of motorcycle operators killed under
age 25 were not properly licensed. In 2009, that statistic fell to only 45.5
percent. Riders, young and old, are encouraged to be properly licensed and
to seek training and safety information.

“The terrible trend of rising motorcyclist fatalities has been reversed,
though there is more that everyone can do to save more lives. Riders and
drivers need to respect each other and share the road,” said California
Office of Traffic Safety Director, Christopher J. Murphy.

Riders can get training through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program.
Information and training locations are available at www.CA-msp.org or 1-877
RIDE 411 or 1-877-743-3411. Funding for this program is provided by a grant
from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.
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