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Deadly Start To Motorcycle Season

WILKES-BARRE – Safety instructors and avid bikers told Newswatch 16 that the first few weeks of spring when motorcycles hit the open road can be dangerous. Acco...
WILKES-BARRE – Safety instructors and avid bikers told Newswatch 16 that the first few weeks of spring when motorcycles hit the open road can be dangerous.

According to crash statics release by PennDOT, there were 3,970 wrecks involving motorcycles reported in 2012, including 210 which were deadly.

That is a slight uptick from 2011, when 3,674 crashes involving motorcycles were reported across Pennsylvania, including 210 which were fatal.

David Buyarski of Shavertown took his Kawasaki Vulcan out for the first ride of the season Tuesday afternoon, and told Newswatch 16 that he has encountered a lot of distracted drivers.

“Some people just don`t see you and then you have the whole cell phone thing and everything else on top of you just having a motorcycle,” said Buyarski. “They are surrounded with the metal of a car."

West Side Technology and Career and Technology Center Director Nancy Tkatch said the first few weeks of the free basic riding course classes have already filled up.

"It's real easy for folks to not recognize that motorcycle coming from a side street, sometimes coming from a passing zone because they are a much smaller vehicle. Oftentimes they don`t ride with many motorcycles together. When they`re a single rider, it is tough to see them sometimes,” said Tkatch.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program http://www.pamsp.com/CourseInfo_Basic.aspx

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