By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

Provincial Motorcycle Awareness Safety Campaigns This Month

Jul 5, 2016 | 3:34 PM

ALBERTA – July is Motorcycle Safety Month in Alberta.Since riders are more vulnerable on the road, Acting Traffic Safety, Sergant Marco Pagliericci, advised drivers to give those on motorbikes plenty of space.

“We all have a responsibility, coming into the summer season you will see more motorcyclists out. They are not as visible as a vehicle so sometimes a blind spot or a cyclist coming up along your side may not be as clear so we need to be more aware of motorcycles using the road.”

As head injury is a leading cause of death in motorcycle collisions, Sgt. Pagliericci suggested riders and their passengers only wear approved helmets and invest in light-coloured reflective clothing.

Saferoad reports that a rider with a helmet is 37 per cent less likely to die than without one.

Along with wearing proper equipment, motorcyclists must take several precautions to ensure a safe ride on the roads.

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Whether a motorcyclist is new or returning to riding, Sgt. Pagliericci said that riders benefit greatly from taking training courses.

“Young people are generally always a little more at risk because of inexperience. Motorcycles are a vehicle that can go at a quick speed very fast and maneuvering those motorcycles when inexperienced can lead to fatality.”

Motorcycle riders in the province age 16 to 17 years had the highest collision rate per 1,000 licensed motorcyclists (2014).

Sgt. Pagliericci also encourages cyclists to drive according to the road conditions and to watch out for left over sand that has accumulated at the ends of the roads from the winter months. He said that this extra sand can be extremely dangerous for those out riding, coming around corners.

According to saferoad statistics, between 2010 and 2014, 42 per-cent of motorcyclists involved in casualty collisions were at fault.

Half of these errors were running off of the road or following too closely.