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May is Motorcycle Awareness Safety Month: Time to share road safely, save lives

Posted 5/12/20

While Arizona’s roadways are a bit more tranquil during the pandemic, the traffic soon will return to normal, which means busy roadways and reduced respect for riders and drivers. And, that means time for a renewed concentration on safety.

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May is Motorcycle Awareness Safety Month: Time to share road safely, save lives

Posted

While Arizona’s roadways are a bit more tranquil during the pandemic, the traffic soon will return to normal, which means busy roadways and reduced respect for riders and drivers. And, that means time for a renewed concentration on safety.

Peoria-based Arizona Motorcycle Safety & Awareness Foundation is playing a key role in the launch of a statewide effort known as Share the Road, which is geared to significantly reduce the number of crashes and fatalities on Arizona roadways.

As AMSAF joins key business partners in spreading the word about safety, the nonprofit foundation also is providing discounted rider scholarships, offers a unique helmet program with substantial savings to protect riders and provides startling yet critical information about the importance of roadway respect with the millions of drivers about to rebound on Arizona’s streets and highways.

Last year, along with more than 3,100 motorcycle and 123,000 other vehicle crashes in which people were hurt, there were record numbers of fatalities. As noted recently by Gov. Doug Ducey, the time is now to focus drivers and riders on the critical importance of sharing the road with respect and being completely aware of one’s surroundings.

Last year, the economic loss due to vehicle crashes was more than $10 billion. And some 126,987 crashes took place in Arizona alone, according to AMSAF Mick Degn.

Mr. Degn said the Share the Road program is a statewide public awareness effort aimed at focusing Arizona motorists on the critical need to pay attention when driving and provide scholarships, statewide, to train motorcyclists how to ride more defensively. This multi-pronged movement, which is geared to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities on Arizona roads, is supported and promoted by the Arizona governor, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, AMSAF, Dignity Health at Chandler Regional Medical Center, Arizona Trauma Association, Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation, Law Tigers and many other supporters.

Share the Road originally was developed to provide training scholarships at a reduced cost so more Arizonans could get the training they need to ride safely. However, half of the crashes and fatalities on Arizona roadways are the result of distracted drivers, and corporations and organizations statewide are saying enough is enough, everyone operating a vehicle in Arizona has to start paying more attention.

As a result of these efforts, AMSAF collaborated with RideNow Powersports Cycle Gear, Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson, Desert Wind Harley Davidson and The Helmet Center to develop a helmet program that will help individuals to garner a quality department of transpiration helmet with some financial assistance from AMSAF and a 25% discount from these dealers. The program affords people the opportunity to purchase a good full-face or modular DOT helmet at a reduced cost, which is crucial to people during unsure economic times.