
The lovely spring weather encourages those who have motorcycles to hit the road. You may be thinking that, as a motorist in a passenger vehicle, the matter does not much concern you, but you’d be wrong. Just one brief moment of inattention or not checking before you change lanes could be fatal to the person operating a motorcycle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in an issue statement, had this to say: “When motorcycles and other vehicles collide, it is usually the other (non-motorcycle) driver who violates the motorcyclist’s right of way. There is a continuing need to help other motorists ‘think’ motorcycles and to educate motorcyclists to be aware of this problem.” May is Motorcycle Safety Month—and Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration (MDMVA) reminds you that you can help save a life by keeping motorcycles uppermost in your mind and checking twice before you change position in traffic. The Numbers Don’t Lie Motorcycle deaths are on the rise. In 2015, 4,976 persons died in crashes, up 8.3 percent from 2014. The age of the average cyclist in a wreck has increased as well: it’s gone from 39 in 2006 to 42 in 2015. Injuries from motorcycle crashes were roughly[…..]