Share the road: May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

MADISON (WITI) -- More than a half million Wisconsin residents have a motorcycle license or permit, and many of them have already started this year’s riding season. As motorcycles grow in popularity among men and women of all ages, safety is a constant concern. Last year, 73 motorcycle riders and passengers died in Wisconsin traffic crashes.

"May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, which is an opportunity to remind drivers to share the road and watch for motorcycles, especially at intersections and while making turns and lane changes," says Greg Patzer, manager of the Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program (WMSP). "Drivers can easily misjudge the speed and distance of an approaching motorcycle because of its smaller dimensions. To prevent crashes, drivers should check the position of a motorcycle at least two or three times before they proceed through an intersection or make a turn."

To protect themselves and others on the road, motorcyclists are legally required to have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver license. Nearly 42 percent of motorcyclists’ fatalities in 2013 involved riders who had not completed the safety training or skills test required to obtain a motorcycle endorsement on their license.

Motorcyclists can obtain their motorcycle endorsement in two ways:

To help promote rider education, the WMSP is teaming up with ABATE of Wisconsin, a motorcycle riders’ advocacy group, to distribute hang-tags that dealers can display on their motorcycles in showrooms urging riders to get endorsed.