Just as sure as the spring thaw is bringing bikers out of winter hibernation, so, too, will a new riding season unleash a renewed debate about motorcycle accidents and helmet laws.

Springtime is also a time for car and truck drivers to be doubly alert. Studies have shown that they have a hard time seeing motorcyclists, despite the fact that most cycles are factory-built to operate with a light on when in use.

“It’s because (drivers) tend to look for other cars and trucks,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration brochure points out. “In addition, because of its small profile, a motorcycle is harder to see.”

Drivers also admit to having trouble judging the distance between their vehicles and motorcycles and the speed at which cycles are traveling, both of which factor into the number of crashes between motorcycles and other vehicles.

NHTSA says more than half of all cycle accidents involve the driver of another vehicle.

Already, the Johnstown region has seen at least one fatal motorcycle crash: A father of five children died March 5 of injuries received when his cycle and a car collided Feb. 28 in the West End.

While there are highly recommended – and free – safety courses for beginner and advanced cyclists sponsored by PennDOT, there are, unfortunately, no such programs to help remind motorists to be more aware of motorcycles.

“We really don’t have anything,” said Steve Chizmar, a PennDOT spokesman and former Windber resident. “But this time of year, motorists have to be aware of increasing numbers of bicyclists and walkers, too.”

But Charles Umbenhauer of Dover, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education, says PennDOT has been involved in two worthwhile projects aimed at keeping cyclists safe.

“They just haven’t done enough,” he said. “It hasn’t been for (ABATE’s) lack of trying.”

PennDOT, the York County resident said, has mailed to drivers two NHTSA brochures (“Sharing the Road: Motorcycles and Automobiles” and “Drive Aware We’re Out There”) that encourage drivers to “treat motorcycles as a full-sized vehicle with equal rights to the road; give motorcycles a full lane.”

They also detail several high-risk situations in which drivers and motorcyclists should use special caution.

ABATE wants more and is doing more. Last year, 6,000 signs were erected along highways spreading the message “Look Twice Save a Life – Motorcycles Are Everywhere.”

The group has also tried unsuccessfully to get grant money for billboards and other signs, Umbenhauer said, adding, “We’re carrying the whole (financial) load.”

He points out that his fellow cyclists have to be more aware, too, as a new riding season begins.

“This time of year always concerns me,” Umbenhauer said. “Cyclists are not used to riding. They’ve been off several months. There is also an abundance of potholes and cinders on the highways.”

And no conversation about safety would be complete without discussing statistics, especially those involving the number of accidents and the number of deaths of cyclists. Both are rising.

In 2005, the last year for which PennDOT statistics are available, 205 cyclists were killed in 4,039 accidents.

That’s a sharp increase over 2003, when there were 156 deaths in 3,057 accidents.

Ironically, 2003 was the year the Legislature modified Pennsylvania’s helmet law. Since then, motorcycle fatalities in the state have climbed 30 percent.

However, the number of registered motorcycles, too, has increased 19 percent, to more than 313,000. Also sharply up is the number of licensed riders: From 755,068 in 2003 to 772,201 in 2005.

“One of the problems since the helmet law was passed,” Umbenhauer said, “is that people want to say that we repealed the helmet law. We didn’t.”

The law states that riders 21 years of age or older and have been licensed to operate a motorcycle for two years or have completed an approved training course can ride helmetless if they so choose.

Passengers 21 years of age or older riding with an exempt rider can also forgo a lid.

Eye protection is still mandatory for all.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia require helmets.

Nevertheless, with a new riding season will come a renewed debate about helmets.

As someone who bought his first motorcycle 42 years ago and has ridden a great deal since 2002, including from Johnstown to Key West and back last October, I always wear a helmet and I wish every other rider would.

But that’s your choice and I agree with the law that gives you that choice.



Bruce Wissinger is editor of the editorial page.