Attentive drivers, safety gear can keep bikers safe

Todd King considers himself "stupid lucky."

King, who works in Sikeston, Missouri, and has ridden motorcycles for 25 years, recalls the time another vehicle hit his bike, sending him flying.

"I've actually been hit before," he said. "I got very lucky. I flew about 25 feet and landed on my feet. I was just stupid lucky."

King's brother, who lives in Harlingen, Texas, was less fortunate. Earlier this year, he was trying to pass a vehicle in front of him when the driver made a left turn without signaling, leaving him with 16 skull fractures, four broken ribs and a torn right rotator cuff, King said.

"He was in a medically induced coma for weeks and just now is getting up and walking and is facing two to three months of physical and occupation therapy," King said.

Crashes

Statewide, 104 people died in motorcycle crashes in 2012 -- the most recent year for which statistics were available -- according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Cpl. Clark Parrott said the patrol does not have data available for 2013, but for the first five months of that year, motorcycle fatalities were up 40 percent over the same period in 2012.

"I think part of it, especially in the last year, we didn't have a winter," he said.

Mild weather during the first three months of 2013 meant more motorcyclists were on the road at a time when other drivers were not expecting them, Parrott said.

"The motoring public is not used to seeing a motorcycle at that time of year," he said.

The number is likely to be much lower this year, thanks to an icy winter and a cold, wet spring, Parrott said.

Training

Good training, defensive driving and proper safety equipment can help reduce the frequency and severity of accidents, experts and enthusiasts said.

Lt. John Davis of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, who teaches basic rider courses, said training can help keep motorcyclists safe.

"I believe in that course very vehemently," Davis said. "It reminds me of things that I need to remember as a rider every time I teach it."

He especially recommends the course as a refresher for people who rode in their teens and 20s, stopped for several years and are thinking of riding again as older adults.

"It's harder to heal at 50 than it is at 20, so with returning riders, it is most important that they take a BRC," he said.

Even those who have no intention of buying a motorcycle can benefit from the training, he said.

"If every motorist took a basic motorcycle course, they'd be better drivers," Davis said.

Riders do not need their own motorcycles to take the course, which is offered at the Career and Technology Center off South Silver Springs Road, Davis said.

"If you're thinking about buying a motorcycle, and you're not sure whether you can do it, then take a course. That'll teach you whether you can or want to," he said.

Stay alert

With any vehicle, defensive driving can help prevent accidents.

"You've got to watch out for yourself," said Josh Grebing, parts manager for Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles in Cape Girardeau. "You can't depend on other people to watch out for you."

Marc and Becky Fulgham of Cape Girardeau can attest to that.

The couple, who just returned from a trip to Philadelphia, put 12,000 to 15,000 miles on their Honda Gold Wing every summer and have had their share of near-misses.

"People are always pulling out in front of you," Becky Fulgham said.

Drivers may roll through stop signs or fail to look both ways as they pull out, Marc Fulgham said.

"You can tell if you're watching ... because of the way they're rolling up to it that they haven't got a clue," he said.

Distracted drivers pose a special hazard to motorcyclists, whose vehicles are smaller, harder to see and provide less protection, Davis said.

"Whether the motorcyclist is right or wrong, the motorcyclist is going to lose just because the nature of their vehicle -- they don't have the protective cage that a car or truck has," he said.

Davis said he has seen drivers distract themselves with cellphones, makeup and even reading materials.

"I actually saw somebody one time -- I was on my motorcycle and saw a person that had a book in their steering wheel," he said.

The most common motorcycle crashes come from riders being run off the road, Davis said, while the most dangerous are those that occur when a car or truck pulls out in front of a motorcycle.

Equipment

The right safety equipment can increase rider safety, experts said.

Anti-lock braking systems can help prevent skids if a motorcyclist needs to stop suddenly, Grebing said.

"ABS is a huge thing in stopping," he said.

Brad Jones, parts consultant at Lawless Harley-Davidson in Scott City, also recommends upgrading to brighter headlights.

Jones said LED headlights are "considerably brighter" than stock headlights, providing visibility up to 200 yards farther.

Personal safety gear also helps, Davis said.

King said a helmet could have saved his brother several months of pain.

"If he'd had a helmet on, he probably would have walked away from it or at least been out of the hospital the next day," he said.

In addition to a Department of Transportation-approved helmet, eye protection, gloves, long pants, long sleeves and sturdy, over-the-ankle shoes all can increase rider safety, Davis said.

"Flip-flops are not a good idea on a motorcycle," he said.

Marc Fulgham said his stout leather boots once kept him and his wife safe when their front tire went flat as they were traveling down the interstate.

Fulgham said the front end of the bike started to shake, which he initially attributed to speed, but the shaking became uncontrollable, and the bike began veering from shoulder to shoulder, leaning wildly from side to side.

"Something was happening, and the rim or something was catching," he said.

He managed to slow the bike to about 30 or 40 miles per hour and was ready to drive it into a ditch to stop it when it straightened up again.

"I just buried my wheel into the brake," Marc Fulgham said.

When the motorcycle finally stopped, he wondered aloud why it hadn't tipped over. His wife told him to look at his boots, the soles and sides of which had nearly worn through.

"I was dragging my feet, and then I would kick it back up at 70 miles per hour," he said. "My boots were just trashed."

Fortunately for the couple, the boots and their nerves were the only real casualties.

"It put the fear into me," Marc Fulgham said, laughing.

Leather can protect more than just feet, Jones said: Items such as jackets and chaps can reduce abrasions in a crash.

"I would go with probably leathers. Leathers will keep you from getting substantial road rash," he said.

In low light, however, black leather can render the wearer virtually invisible, Davis cautioned.

To counter that problem, Harley-Davidson offers some leather coats with high-visibility stripes on them, Jones said.

Grebing suggested riders wear a high-visibility vest over a leather jacket to get the benefit of both garments.

"A lot of people are going to high-visibility clothing, whether it's a jacket or a helmet or something -- just anything to be seen," he said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Safety tips for riders

* Take a basic rider course or review driving strategies.

* Always ride defensively.

* Pay special attention to all intersections, including alleys and driveways, and be prepared to react quickly if a vehicle pulls out.

* Always wear a Department of Transportation-approved helmet when riding.

* Wear protective clothing, including eye protection, gloves, long pants, long sleeves and sturdy, over-the-ankle shoes.

* When riding at night, wear light-colored, reflective clothing to increase visibility.

* Drive in the most conspicuous part of the lane. On a two-lane road, that's the left portion of the lane, close to the centerline.

* Keep the bike upright. You can't control it if it's on its side.

Safety tips for drivers

* Pay close attention to your surroundings.

* Be aware that motorcycles are smaller and harder to see.

* Put away cellphones while driving.

* Avoid distractions such as applying makeup or looking at reading material.

Source: Lt. John Davis, Cape Girardeau Police Department