May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month - Watch Out for Motorcycles

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. Motorcycles are coming on the road in great numbers after being absent for most of the winter in northern climates. We all need to be reminded to watch for motorcycles. Consumer Reports has an article on this most important safety issue. Here's an excerpt:

"May kicks off Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, an initiative supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). With spring well underway, riders are hitting the highways and byways, and this serves as a reminder to all drivers to be mindful that motorcycles are sharing the road." -- Jeff Bartlett, ConsumerReports.org

Read more.

It's also a good time to read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle.

10 Ways to Be Safe Riding a Motorcycle

I get Google Alerts every day telling of motorcycle accidents all over the world. The most disturbing accounts describe the deaths of riders because an oncoming motorist turned left across their path and the motorcycle struck the car.

Folks, most every rider has not yet got the message of the danger of left-turners.

Please read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle. It describes the left-turner as well as nine more ways to be be safe on a motorcycle.

These tips are also included in my new Kindle book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle.

So, get educated and read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle.

Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) to Sponsor Real-Time Accident Study

100 motorcycles, specially equipped with sensors and cameras, will be used in a first-ever MSF study to better understand motorcycle accidents. Here's an excerpt from an article published by Motor Sports Newswire:

"The first rider participating in the first-ever MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study rode off with a fully instrumented, data-logging bike from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) last week, marking the start of the year-long research project. Each of the 100 bikes, routinely being ridden in real-world traffic, and equipped with an array of data acquisition systems, will provide comprehensive, real-time, near-crash, pre-crash and actual-crash information that is unprecedented in motorcycle research."

Read more.

Motorcycle Fatality Facts

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued its 2009 report on motorcycle fatality facts. AllAboutBikes.com has reviewed the report. Here's an excerpt from their report:

"Motorcycle fatalities only represent about a fifth of all fatalities on the road. In 2009, there were 23,437 fatalities involving passenger vehicles. But that doesn't mean that motorcycles are a safer way to travel. If you look at the amount of miles traveled, the government estimates that motorcycle deaths are 37 times more likely to occur." -- AllAboutBikes.com

Read more.

Honda Seeks Patent on Motorcycle Airbag System

Could an airbag find its way to your next new Honda motorcycle? Honda seems to be serious about this. Check out this recent United States patent application for a motorcycle airbag system, complete with drawings. What are your feelings about an airbag for your motorcycle? Are there better alternatives available?