FAIRFIELD — The California Highway Patrol has received a $700,000 statewide grant to promote motorcycle safety.
The goal of the Get Educated and Ride Safe V grant “is to reduce motorcycle accidents and casualties through education and enforcement efforts throughout California,” the CHP reported.
The grant announcement came on Friday – a day after a 23-year-old Benicia man was killed when he failed to negotiate a curve on Lake Herman Road and hit head-on a big platform.
There were 7,078 accidents involving motorcycles resulting in 354 deaths and 6,400 injuries in the CHP’s jurisdiction from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, an increase of 3% from the previous 12 months, the CHP reported.
“Motorcyclists are statistically more likely to be injured or killed when involved in a crash,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a statement. “In an effort to ensure that every motorist reaches their destination safely, the CHP will continue to use enforcement and non-enforcement strategies, including education and community engagement, to target key causes of death on the roads.
The CHP said it will step up enforcement in areas with a high number of accidents involving motorcycles resulting from speeding, incorrect turns and driving under the influence of alcohol and / or drugs. It was unclear if Solano County was one of those areas.
Education efforts also focus on the importance of wearing a regulatory helmet and on making drivers aware of sharing the road with motorcyclists.
The grant runs through September 30, 2023, and is funded by a California Bureau of Highway Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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