As the weather warms up in Colorado, more motorcyclists take to the road. The Colorado Department of Transportation is urging riders to make sure they have the proper training.
Motorcycles make up only 3% of the state’s registered vehicles, but motorcycle riders accounted for 18% of traffic deaths in Colorado in 2010. More than one-third of motorcycle riders killed in crashes did not have a motorcycle endorsement on their license, which is against the law.
“Yet there are many many motorcycles on the roadways which are ridden without endorsements, which is absolutely an illegal thing. They must pass a test to get that motorcycle endorsement so some people are either choosing not to that, so perhaps they don’t even have any training,” said C-DOT Spokeswoman Heather Halpape.
Starting this month C-DOT is focusing its live to ride campaign on encouraging motorcyclists to get proper training before riding this season. Officials say that even experienced riders can benefit from added training.
The campaign will include billboards, print ads in motorcycle enthusiast publications and posters in bars and restaurants. In addition, C-DOT will debut a motorcycle skill rating map that will indicate easy, moderate and difficult bike routes in the state.