Marking "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month," the Texas Department of Transportation is launching an initiative to prevent fatal motorcycle wrecks. The agency says 599 motorcyclists were killed in crashes last year, and 2,483 were hurt.
TxDOT says the number of motorcyclists who died in wrecks increased seven percent last year, and the number of fatalities has increased every year since 2020.
"Warmer spring and summer weather brings more motorcycles onto the road," says TxDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager Nancy Winn. "We can all help save lives and reduce crashes by watching out for each other."
Winn says, since motorcycles may be smaller or less visible than another car, drivers should make sure to use their turn signal and check their blind spot before changing lanes. She also says drivers should look twice for motorcycles.
"Pay special attention at intersections," she says. "More than a third of all motorcycle deaths happen at roadway intersections."
In a video sent by TxDOT, Al Peterson said he was hit when another car turned left in front of him in 2020.
"I was thrown over the vehicle, slid to a stop in about 20 yards," Peterson said. "The vehicle then parked on top of my leg and was parked there until first responders were able to come, pick the vehicle up off my leg and get me loaded up onto the ambulance."
Peterson said he spent two weeks in a medically-induced coma, seven weeks in intensive care and nine weeks total in the hospital.
"It's a miracle I'm still alive, and I'm just one of thousands of Texas motorcyclists who are seriously injured or killed on roads each year," he said.
Peterson says drivers are less likely to see a motorcycle, and motorcycles do not have the same safety features as cars, like air bags or a metal cage protecting people.
Details about TxDOT's campaign are available HERE.
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