Every May, when the weather typically starts to warm up, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, State Highway Patrol and others remind motorists to watch for motorcycles on the road.

May is designated as Motorcycle Safety Month.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, preliminary data show that approximately 12% of Missouri traffic fatalities in 2018 involved a motorcycle, with 115 motorcyclist lives lost.

Sgt. Jake Angle with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H said May is a good month to have the safety campaign, as there tends to be an increase in bike traffic.

“I think it’s just a good month, just to remind people, really it’s more about reminding people, getting them thinking that way about being safe, about the things they need to do and not only the motorcyclists, but also the motoring public, just to make sure that everybody’s on board, just aware they’re out there, we need to get back in that mode,” Angle said. “Kind of like when school starts, with school buses, same things with motorcycles – they’re out there, we need to be vigilant, we need to be aware.”

Angle said safety on the roads is the job of both motorists and motorcyclists.

“Motorcycles are a little bit harder to see, they’re smaller, you can lose them in a blind spot easier, so just make sure that we’re giving 100% of our attention to the job of driving and we’re looking out for those people on motorcycles,” Angle said. “The motorcyclists, they have a responsibility too, they have to understand that they are smaller… that people can’t see them as well. So they need to make sure they don’t stay right in somebody’s blind spot when they’re riding a bike. I think if people will pay attention, use some good common sense, we can all share the road and everything will be fine.”

For more information about Motorcycle Safety Month, go to savemolives.com.