More motorcycles on the streets of California, and older drivers who have slower reflexes – a potent combination of factors that have led to an increased number of motorcycle accidents in many areas across the state.  Now, the California Highway Patrol has kicked off a program that aims to increase awareness for the need for better motorcycle safety practices on our streets. The program called “Saving Lives in California” includes five areas in its fold, and will continue though this month.

The California Highway Patrol has identified a few areas as being especially vulnerable to motorcycle accidents.  All through this month, patrol officers will be vigilantly looking for errant motorcyclists, and educating drivers about the proper methods of sharing the roads.

The program couldn’t come a day too soon.  The number of motorcycle accidents taking place in California, the state with a tradition of motorcycling that goes back decades, has increased dramatically. In 1998, the number of people killed in motorcycle accidents was 206. By 2006, the number had risen to 511. Of course, as the California Highway Patrol points out, the number of motorcycle registrations during the same period rose by 72 percent.  The number of increased motorcycle accidents therefore can be traced to the fact that there are simply more motorcycles on the streets these days.

Even among motorcycle owners, there is a distinctly different kind of motorcycle rider these days that has the CHP worried. The number of older motorcyclists has risen around the country, and the same is true for California.  As one patrol officer puts it bluntly, when you dust off the motorcycle, you also had better take some motorcycle safety lessons to brush up your knowledge of riding.  With more older men choosing to celebrate the new found independence that comes when they have completed a good part of child rearing and can concentrate on themselves, there is a breed of motorcyclists who form a potentially high-risk group for such accidents.  A 40-year-old motorcyclist just doesn’t have the sort of reflexes and quick judgment that a 25-year-old would.  Add to that the fact that the machines themselves these days are stronger, meaner and more powerful, and you have a recipe for a motorcycle accident.

So far, it looks as though the program is going according to plan. In the Santa Fe Springs area alone, CHP officers have cited 108 motorcyclists so far. Other areas that have been identified by the CHP in this program are Baldwin Park, Altadena, Central L.A. and West San Fernando Valley.  From crossing the yellow lines, to riding without a license, motorcyclists are being given a crash course on what is not acceptable on the streets.

An initiative like this from the California Highway Patrol was a long way coming.  Better education can only mean safer streets for both motorcycle and drivers alike.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of motorcycle accidents.  Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.