News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
With Spring in the air, drivers may encounter more motorcyclists on the road.
Cookeville Police Lieutenant Jeff Johnson asks citizens to “look twice” during this time.
“Motorcycle riders have been kind of cooped-up all year,” Johnson said. “When spring comes around everyone wants to get out and people kind of forget to look for motorcycles.”
Johnson said motorcycles provide little to no protection when involved in a wreck.
“Motorcycles are not equipped with airbags or crumple zones like vehicles,” Johnson said. “So, when they are in an accident, it’s usually more apt to see more injuries in motorcycle riders than you do in motor vehicles.”
Cookeville Police statistics indicate authorities worked 19 motorcycle accidents in 2018. All wrecks involved injuries and one ended in a fatality.
Johnson said motorcyclists have to maneuver within their lanes to avoid poor road conditions.
“People need to keep a safe traveling distance from them because with debris in the road that you can run over with a motor vehicle, with a motorcycle it can cause an accident,” Johnson said. “So, we never want to ride really close to motorcycles and we want to give them that opportunity to make evasive maneuvers that they need to do.”
Johnson said motorcyclists should stay aware of their surroundings when on the roadway.
“Be very smart. If you don’t feel safe, then they should pull over. Maybe contact the police if it is some aggressive driving by vehicles and let us take control of that situation,” Johnson said. “There are other things like road conditions and stuff like that that they have to be aware of too.”
Johnson said riders can also notify city and highway officials about poor road conditions.
Since the beginning of the year, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has reported 11 motorcycle fatalities. This number is seven fewer fatalities than 2018 at this time.
Cookeville Police have worked two motorcycle accidents since March 23.
