TEXAS, USA — The Texas Department of Transportation has launched the "Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles," campaign to alert drivers of the risks motorcyclists face.
The campaign is also to alert the drivers of the precautions to take to protect other motorists as well as themselves.
Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles is a campaign that will remind drivers that motorcycles are small and can be hard to see.
In 2019, 412 motorcyclists were killed in Texas, with the highest fatality numbers being in Odessa, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, Lubbock, and Corpus Christi.
The number of motorcycle traffic crashes in 2019, was 37, which resulted in six motorcyclist deaths and seven motorcyclists being seriously injured.
Midland faced a total of 28 motorcyclists crashes, resulting in one death and six serious injuries the same year.
In response to the crashes that have taken place on the roads, TxDot has released a checklist on what drivers should do to prevent vehicle/motorcycle crashes. The list includes:
- Take extra care when making a left turn. It’s easy to misjudge the speed and proximity of an oncoming motorcycle. It’s safest to let the motorcycle pass to avoid turning in front of the rider.
- Pay special attention at intersections. Close to one-third of motorcycle fatalities happen at roadway intersections.
- Give driving your full attention. Even a momentary distraction, such as answering a phone call or changing the radio station, can have deadly consequences.
- Look twice when changing lanes. Check mirrors, check blind spots, and always use turn signals.
- Give motorcyclists room when passing them. Move over to the passing lane and don’t crowd the motorcyclist’s full lane.
- Stay back. If you are behind a motorcycle, always maintain a safe following distance. When a motorcyclist downshifts instead of applying the brake to slow down, it can catch drivers off guard since there are no brake lights to signal that they are reducing their speed.
- Slow down. As always, please obey the posted speed limit.
