WARREN-Ohio - WARREN - With motorcycle-related fatalities spiking statewide and locally, drivers can expect to see more officers watching them on the roads and to hear more about safety as they move into summer.
With the newly formed Motorcycle Safety Coalition, local law enforcement plans to target enforce in high-risk crash areas and provide education at biker events to help curb crashes, and more importantly, the fatalities in which they often result.
"It isn't about coming down hard," said Lt. Joseph Dragovich of the Southington post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. "There is a reason. These are ugly. These are crashes where there are body parts left on the road."
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, in 2008, there were 213 motorcycle fatalities in Ohio, a number that's increased 35 percent over the last three years. Just in Trumbull County last year, seven were killed in motorcycle crashes. In Mahoning County, that number was two.
Lt. Michael Marucci of the Ravenna post of the OSHP said part of the increase can be attributed to the higher number of enthusiasts on the roads. From 2006 to 2008, there was a 16 percent increase in motorcycles registered in Ohio, he said. That's in part due to gas prices and the growing popularity of motorcycling, he said.
About 40 percent of crashes involved alcohol, Marucci said.
"A lot of other ones involve inexperienced drivers, with cornering and braking issues where they fail to negotiate curves," Marucci said.
The coalition - which covers seven counties including Trumbull and Mahoning - plans to use education at events attended by motorcycle enthusiasts and push the use of motorcycle driving courses that give drivers the skills to avoid crashes, he said.
"We'll also try to encourage people driving cars to share the road and make sure they're watching out for motorcyclists," Marucci said.
One plan of action is to target motorcyclists with enforcement blitzes in high-risk areas, Marucci said. Local law enforcement agencies will identify corridors with increased traffic during events like bike nights and bike runs with high-visibility enforcement.
They'll also focus on high-traffic days like Wednesdays and weekends, when more drivers are out and more events are taking place, he said.
Those activities will be funded through the Ohio Traffic Safety Office.
The first will be from 5 to 9 p.m. June 25, with several bike night events planned that day in Mahoning County.
"We're going to corridors motorcycles use to get to destinations," Marucci said.
In Trumbull County, Dragovich said high-risk areas include isolated routes, such as state Route 11.
"It's kind of isolated. People think they can run fast, and they sort of treat isolated roads as playgrounds," Dragovich said.
Other high-risk areas include intersections, where drivers of cars or trucks tend to look past motorcycles or judge distances improperly.
"We have crashes where motorcyclists are doing everything right, and a car pulls out in front of them or turns," he said. "Those can happen at any intersection."
For example, last June, Terrance Primis, 45, of Warren, was killed when he collided with a car at the intersection of Youngstown Road and Ridge Road S.E. The driver of the car, Iva M. Clapper, 91, of Niles, turned left onto Ridge Road in front of Primis, and he hit her, police said.
"Even if they're doing everything right, they're still vulnerable to someone driving a car or truck or whatever and not paying attention," Dragovich said.
While event locations might not necessarily be in the county, the traffic is, he said.
Dragovich was optimistic there only has been one fatality in Trumbull County so far this year.
That crash happened in Champion on June 6 when Lawrence D. Schlicher Jr., 45, of Warren, lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into two mailboxes on North Leavitt Road N.W. He and 33-year-old passenger Jamie Clapp were thrown from the bike. Schlicher died at the scene. Neither were wearing helmets, and high speed and alcohol are suspected factors, Dragovich said.
"The presence is an attempt to educate, to say, 'Hey, look, we're out here making sure you're practicing safe motorcycle driving and not drinking and driving,'" Dragovich said. "But enforcement is part of that. It's unpleasant but realistic."
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are solely those of the writer, and may not reflect the beliefs of anyone at Outlaw Biker World.
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Home
