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State Wants Bikers To Ride Loud For Safety's Sake

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Capitol News Service

Published: July 14, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - State highway safety officials are asking bikers to dress brightly, paint their motorcycles in brighter colors and add more lights to the machines.

It's not a stylish move for a community that puts a lot of stock in style, but it might make riders more visible and cut a rising number of accidents.

"It's not cool but it's better for me," said Jeff Ward, a biker from Tallahassee. "I feel better about my safety."

"Ride Proud, Ride Loud" is the name of a campaign announced today at a news conference in Tallahassee by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

The number of fatal motorcycle wrecks has risen from 150 in 1990, to 250 in 2001, to 550 for 2007, according to preliminary statistics from the highway safety department.

Just one in every 20 Florida drivers is a motorcyclist but they're involved in one of every seven deadly wrecks.

Among factors that could have contributed to the rise: Wearing a helmet was made optional for motorcycle riders in 2000 and motorcycle sales have risen, from 107,000 in all of 2007 to 82,000 just halfway through this year.

With so many new bikers, the state is asking motorcyclists to do what they can to stand out more.

"Anything we can do to make ourselves more visible as motorcycle riders, as motor vehicle operators, helps that other person to see us," said John Czernis of the Florida Highway Patrol.

But it will take action by more than riders to reduce accidents, says biker Jill Soderberg of Tallahassee.

"We sit in mirrors, we move between lanes, get in the high part of the lane, low side of the lane, and they're just not really looking for us," Soderburg said.

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