The friend, Martin Munguia, is working with MOTRAN President James Beauchamp to create an event that will encourage biker safety, inspired by the death of 36-year-old Joe Anthony Montemayor in a Feb. 5 crash on Big Spring Street in Midland.
The statistics were provided by the Texas Department of Transportation and cover the 12-county Odessa District for the years 2008 through 2012. They show that the number of crashes, deaths and injuries involving motorcycles remained mostly consistent (see breakout).
But the statistics also show a persistent and deadly problem when compared to total accidents.
The last two years, coinciding with the oil boom, saw great increases in crashes. In 2012, when there were 425,091 registered vehicles in the region, crashes increased 18 percent. Fatalities increased 47 percent to a total 147. And 10 of those people killed in 2012 were motorcyclists or their passengers.
“Unless you’ve got 42,549 registered motorcycles out there, it means your fatalities among motorcyclists are higher compared to the rest of the population,” Beauchamp said.
Munguia and Beauchamp are lobbying Midland and Odessa to issue official proclamations declaring a biker awareness day and they are still finding both a date and location for the event. Munguia has said he hopes to have the event next month, and Beauchamp has said he hopes to fold the event into the Drive Smart campaign, which includes outreach about issues like distracted driving.
“The bikers, they’re a close knit group and I think a couple of these recent fatalities have hit them pretty hard,” Beauchamp told the Odessa American last week. “It all comes back to awareness.”
Beyond the greater risk of injury should an accident occur, motorcyclists are less visible than cars and trucks, and drivers tend to have greater difficulty gauging their speed, Beauchamp said. Most accidents involving motorcycles happen during a turn.
Odessa spokesman Gene Powell said 2011 figures show 470 motorcycle fatalities statewide, accounting for 16 percent of traffic deaths. Motorcyclists are five times more likely to be injured in a traffic accident and 25 times more likely to die.
TxDOT’s Share the Road motorcycle safety campaign begins next month, which emphasizes many of the same safety measures promoted by Munguia and MOTRAN.
For greater safety, MOTRAN urges drivers to give motorcyclists more space, wait longer before turning when one is approaching and, generally, to pay more attention. Meanwhile, the agency urges motorcyclists to wear helmets, obey traffic laws and make themselves more visible through means such as blinkers, hand signals and running lights.
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Source: OA (Paul, 3/13)
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