Full Notification

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
August 28, 2014 Sergeant Neil Uyeda 650-780-7187 [email protected]

Improving Motorcycle Safety Aim of the Redwood City Police Department Operation

Careless motorists as well as riders get special scrutiny

The Redwood City Police Department will be conducting a specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation on Friday, August 29, in an effort to lower deaths and injuries. Extra enforcement will be directed to areas frequented by motorcyclists and areas where motorcycle crashes most frequently occur. Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers and riders alike that can lead to motorcycle crashes. They will be cracking down on operators of both vehicles and motorcycles who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, making illegal turns, or any other dangerous violation.

Motorcycle fatalities saw a phenomenal drop of 37 percent from 2008 to 2010, but then rose 23 percent by 2012. Operations like this are aimed at curbing any more rises in motorcycle deaths and sending the numbers back downward.

Of the five fatal traffic collisions over the past three years in Redwood City, two have involved motorcycles. Over the same time period nineteen additional motorcyclists were injured as a result of traffic collisions.

California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs by both riders and drivers alike. The Redwood City Police Department is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes.

Riders can get training through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. Information and training locations are available at www.CA-msp.org or 1-877 RIDE 411 or 1-877-743-3411.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The message to all drivers and motorcyclists is: share in the responsibility and do your part by safely “sharing the road.”

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