Beautiful weather means peak riding season for motorcyclists. Being on the open road with the sunshine and warm temperatures makes it easy to forget your cares. Motorcycle safety, however, is not one thing that should slip your mind. Motorcycle accidents kill dozens each year, and injure even more There are far too many stories of motorcycle rides turning deadly. These fatalities are often preventable.
Motorcycle-related fatalities in Tennessee are up 38 percent since 2014. Fatalities have increased in four of the last five years. After motorcycle-related fatalities decreased in 2017, we saw 32 more in 2018, making it the deadliest year for riders in the last five years. That’s not the direction these numbers should trend with the amount of motorcycle safety information available to us.
A Nashville-area man died on March 30 after his motorcycle collided with a minivan at an intersection around midnight. While the minivan driver was unharmed, the rider sadly passed away at the scene. Investigators confirmed eye-witness reports that the motorcyclist was speeding as he approached the injury.
It is unknown if the rider was wearing a helmet or not. What you can learn from this tragic story is that obeying post speed limit signs and paying extra attention when riding at night could prevent similar accidents from happening.
This is the time of the year when motorcyclists will pack Tennessee roads everywhere. You have every right to enjoy each day you can. An integral part of every ride is practicing proper motorcycle safety. You can do your part to reduce motorcycle-related fatalities in 2019.