Attendees at the 2012 MSF participate in a breakout session focusing on creating an action plan to increase motorcyclist safety in five different areas: safety awareness, education, research, legislation, and roadway design and engineering.
More than 100 researchers, law enforcement officers, motorcycle riders, educators and members of government agencies gathered at the seventh annual Motorcycle Safety Forum (MSF) on Feb. 6, 2012, to discuss opportunities and initiatives to reduce motorcycle crashes, injuries and fatalities in Texas.
“The forum is a great chance for lots of agencies and organizations to get together to focus on motorcycle safety,” said Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Traffic Safety Section Director Terry Pence. This collaborative effort is especially important this year — while experts hoped motorcycle crash fatalities would continue to decline, early 2011 numbers indicate an increase in fatalities. Pence shared some preliminary numbers with attendees, stating that they indicate motorcycle fatalities increased by 9.5 percent from the previous year. He added that motorcycle registrations also increased in 2011.
“Through all our efforts, we have saved a bunch of riders, and seven years ago, that may not have been the case,” Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) Director John Mounce said.
New to this year’s forum was a breakout session where attendees focused on creating an action plan to increase motorcyclist safety in five different areas: safety awareness, education, research, legislation, and roadway design and engineering.
This year’s forum included the following presentations:
- NHTSA Motorcycle Safety Initiatives — Kenneth Copeland, Regional Program Manager, Region VI, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Statewide Motorcycle Safety Initiatives — Patricia Turner, Associate Research Scientist, CTS
- Collection and Analysis of Motorcycle Crash Data — James Lock, Collision Research Associates
- Rider Conspicuity — Michael Kellett, Motorcycle Enthusiast
- What’s New in Training — John Young, Program Director, Motorcycle and ATV Safety Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety
- Expanding the Share the Road Program — Butterfly, State Safety and Awareness Liaison, Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents
Learn more about motorcycle safety and view Motorcycle Safety Forum presentations at looklearnlive.org.