DUBOIS – North Central Highway Safety Network was joined by Clearfield, DuBois, Lawrence Township and Sandy Township police departments, along with DuBois Harley Davidson, Clearfield County Harley Owners Group (HOG) and the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program, to promote National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.
The topic for this event was “Share the Road.” The aim of this event was to build public awareness of motorcycles, to discuss the ramifications of aggressive driving, to identify how crashes could be prevented and to remind everyone of the injury/fatality goal.
This event also promoted the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Course, which was designed to teach motorcyclists to be more aware of their surroundings and make them overall safer riders.
The event was coordinated through the District 2 CTSP and PADEEP in an effort to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities.
According to 2014 PennDOT data, motorcycle crashes in Pennsylvania accounted for about 2.7 percent of all vehicle crashes in the state but more than 16.6 percent of the fatal crashes.
In the nine counties of PennDOT District 2, motorcycles were involved in 2.8 percent of all crashes but more than 24.5 percent of the fatal crashes (or 14 of the 57 total fatal crashes).
Statewide there were 401,175 registered motorcycles (or about 3.38 percent of all registered vehicles) in 2014. In District 2, there were 18.635 registered motorcycles or about 4.35 percent of all registered vehicles.
In 2014, there were approximately 861,077 licensed motorcyclists in Pennsylvania. In 2014, 18,180 motorcyclists attended in the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Training programs.
More information on the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program can be found at: http://www.pamsp.com/. More information on motorcycle safety and other highway safety topics can be found at: http://www.justdrivepa.org/
PennDOT District 2 is comprised of the counties of Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin and Potter in central and north-central Pennsylvania.
Motorcycles are on the roadways and all drivers are urged to keep alert, avoid distractions and share the roadway.