STATEWIDE — The weather is warming up in Indiana, meaning you can finally turn up the radio and roll down the windows in your car when you’re out on the road. But, remember that with the warming weather you also need to be aware of more motorcycles on the road.
“Pretty much every time I ride, I have a near miss,” said motorcycle rider Jay Jackson. Jackson is the Executive Director of A.B.A.T.E of Indiana. He took a trip to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument to help kick-off Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month.
During the month of May A.B.A.T.E of Indiana, Governor Holcomb and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are urging everyone to remember to share the road.
“Its been a long winter, you don’t see a lot of motorcycles out during that time and we want people to start thinking about that.” said Jackson, “sort of blow the rust off, and be a little more aware right now.”
ICJI and Indiana University Public Policy Institute released new statistics for 2018, finding that 55{b738c8d81c72d45da79d596f76991eeb044315dc3b27bc6668899a5a04085174} of motorcycle crashes involved another vehicle while 45{b738c8d81c72d45da79d596f76991eeb044315dc3b27bc6668899a5a04085174} were single-motorcycle crashes. Among multiple-vehicle crashes, the driver of the vehicle was at fault 58{b738c8d81c72d45da79d596f76991eeb044315dc3b27bc6668899a5a04085174} of the time, while the biker was at fault 40{b738c8d81c72d45da79d596f76991eeb044315dc3b27bc6668899a5a04085174}.
Jackson advises that when you’re on the road to make sure you look twice, and add extra space. He says if you’re a rider make sure to do everything you can to make yourself more visible, like wearing brightly colored clothing. He says it also helps to have a strategy.
“The strategy is to always leave yourself an out, have an escape route of some type. Plan for the unexpected,” he said.
Jackson says he’s in a dangerous situation daily, but that doesn’t take away from the joy of the ride. He says he can’t explain the experience, but there’s an evident smile on his face.
“Motorcycling is a place that you go. It just takes you away,” he said. “For those who get it no explanation’s necessary, for those who don’t, it’s really hard to explain.”
He says there’s a sense of freedom and exhilaration that’s beyond just transportation.
(Photo: Madyson McGill)
