Motorcycle safety the responsibility of bikers, vehicle drivers

So far this Spring there have already been at least two serious accidents involving motorcycles, one of them fatal.

"We had a pretty long winter, and we didn't see a lot of motorcycles on the road from December until about March," said Dusty Powell, motorcycle safety instructor and owner of Motorcycle Safety, Inc. based in Richland."Drivers just need to be aware that we're coming out there are there's getting to be more and more of us."

Powell says the number one thing drivers need to do to help keep motorcycle riders safe, is to pay attention to their surroundings, and keep their eyes on the road.

"We saw an incident of distracted driving in Richland here a couple of weeks ago-- put the cell phones down and drive the car," Powell says.

But, he says, motorcycle drivers need to do their part, as well. In Washington State, the majority of fatality accidents involving motorcycles are blamed on operator error, and most of those are single-vehicle accidents.

"Riders tend to ride way above their actual skill level," says Powell. "I think we all have an inflated perception of how good we are, and we ride to those mistaken conceptions."

He says motorcyclists need to honestly evaluate their skill level, and ride accordingly. Plus, those skills can diminish without constant practice.

"We've had a 2-1/2 month layoff because of the winter weather, so you're probably not going to have the same level of awareness, the same level of skill that you had when you quit riding last fall."

Even experienced riders can benefit from a refresher safety course, or finding an empty parking lot to rehearse vital skills.