The Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition (TMSC), composed of volunteer members dedicated to improving motorcycle safety, continued work on drafting the first ever Motorcycle Safety Strategic Plan (MSSP) at their July 15th meeting. The plan is a comprehensive approach to address motorcycle safety issues by identifying goals, strategies, action steps, and performance measures for key focus areas.
The overall goal is to improve highway safety by achieving a reduction in the number of motorcyclist fatalities, serious injuries, and crashes. The MSSP supplements and expands on the Texas Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) which includes motorcyclists under System Users emphasis area, identifying objectives and strategies to reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities, injuries, and crashes.
The purpose of the MSSP is to help focus funding and resources on the areas with the greatest opportunity to reduce motorcycle fatalities, serious injuries, and crashes. The plan also provides guidance to the TxDOT Traffic Safety Section and key stakeholders concerned with providing a safe transportation system for motorcyclists and the motoring public.
“This strategic plan will help us focus on the key safety concerns for riders,” says Gonzalo Ponce, a program manager in the Traffic Safety Section of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). “It will act as a playbook for future endeavors and I think it will be a key element in our success.”
The plan will be made available on the www.LookLearnLive.org motorcycle safety website for coalition members to provide additional input and feedback as the plan is finalized.
The Coalition includes representatives from TxDOT, the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the Texas Education Agency (TEA), state and local law enforcement, rider training providers, individual riders, and motorcycle groups, including the Texas Confederation of Clubs & Independents (TCOC&I), Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA), and Texas Motorcycle Roadriders Association (TMRA2).
The TMSC will be instrumental in helping to implement strategies and action steps set forth in the MSSP and the SHSP. TTI is the designated lead agency for the MSSP and TxDOT provides funding support. For more information, visit www.looklearnlive.org or email Patricia Turner at [email protected]