South Carolina motorcycle safety program Rides Smart
The Staff of Clutch and Chrome
June 13th 2008
A new
safety
campaign is taking a multi-pronged approach to reduce South
Carolina's growing number of motorcycle fatalities.
The South
Carolina Highway Patrol is releasing a study on motorcycle
fatalities this week while launching Ride Smart – a
comprehensive motorcycle rider safety/education campaign.
Ride smart,
ride safe is the message coming from the South Carolina
Highway Patrol following 121 motorcycle fatalities on South
Carolina roads last year. With gas prices at record levels,
more people are turning to motorcycles to save money and
many are hitting the roads without proper training.
“This campaign is especially geared toward first-time riders
with limited training,” said Highway Patrol Colonel Harry
Stubblefield, interim commander of the division. “We
launched this effort after watching a steady incline in
motorcycle fatalities and collisions in recent years. With
rising gas prices, we know that motorcycle traffic is likely
to continue increasing, making this safety message more
critical than ever.”
The highway
patrol was recently awarded $75,000 to create safety
material for bike riders. They are encouraging bikers to
take a safety course either from Trident Technical College
or through the local "Smart Course" program.
Troopers are
also distributing a safety DVD to anyone buying a motorcycle
through dealerships as well as at gas stations. in
conjunction with the effort the Highway Patrol has a
12.5MB
promotional video for download on the campaign.
The patrol said that of the 99 fatal motorcycle wrecks
between July 2006 and December, 36 of the riders had
beginner licenses and 25 didn't have a license.
Motorcycle riders were ruled at fault in about 75 percent of
the wrecks and the patrol said most causes were speeding,
driving while intoxicated and failing to yield. |
