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May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness month. Learn more on Live. Work. Play.

Whether you are a driver or motorcyclist, we all have to share the road. Learn how to stay safe on this edition of Live. Work. Play.

HARTFORD, Conn. — May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness month, and the CT DOT joins this edition of Live. Work. Play to remind motorists to share the road and be alert!

Motorcyclist are an estimated 29 times more likely than people in cars to die in a traffic crash and 4x more likely to be injured.

In CT, more than 50 motorcycles lose their lives on our roadways each year. In 2021, there were 68 motorcycle fatalities in the state - this is the highest number in more than 30 years.

We’re heading into warmer weather with more motorcycles on the roads, and it is more important than ever to be extra cautious and on high alert for riders, and always drive the speed limit.

Drivers should recognize the safety challenges faced by motorcyclists, such as size and visibility. Stay alert, avoid distractions, allow more follow distance and look out for motorcycles. Cooperation from all road users will help reduce the number of fatalities and injuries.

Some tips:

Always check your blind spots (motorcycles are smaller than other vehicles and can be even more difficult to spot while merging or changing lanes.)

Be extra cautious when passing (Always make sure you are several car lengths ahead of the motorcycle before returning to your lane.)

Remember that motorcycles react more quickly than cars. Make sure that you maintain an adequate following distance behind motorcycles. Rear-ending a motorcycle can be fatal to the rider.

Be aware of weather. Bad weather has more drastic effects on motorcycle riders than it does on automobile drivers.

Night-riding. Help riders stay safe after dark by increasing your following distance, ensuring that your high-beams are turned off when you notice an approaching motorcycle, and refraining from passing.

Stay in your lane. No matter how small these vehicles are or how much extra room that there appears to be, sharing a single lane with a motorcycle is a recipe for an accident and illegal.

Intersections are danger zones. Many vehicle accidents that involve both automobiles and motorcycles occur at intersections.

Watch for turning motorcycles. Self-cancelling turn signals did not become standard on motorcycles until the late 1970s. There are still many motorcycles on the road today that do not have the self-cancelling turn signals that we are now accustomed to. If you notice that a motorcycle is driving with an activated turn signal for an abnormal distance, increase your following distance so that you have time to react whenever the rider does decide to turn.

Take a second look at left-turns. Before you cross a lane or lanes of traffic to turn left, take a second look for approaching motorcycles. Vehicle accidents involving the collision of a left-turning car and an approaching motorcycle can be very severe.

To learn how to become a motorcycle rider coach or find out more about CT motorcycle safety courses and licensing, go to ride4ever.com.

And for more safety awareness information, log onto Facebook.com/CTHighwaySafety.

This edition of Live. Work. Play. is sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Transporation.

Credit: CT DOT

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