Concord Police will have extra officers on patrol today looking for violations made by drivers and motorcyclists that increase the risk of crashes.
With nearly 900,000 registered motorcycles in the state, many road users are going places without the same protections as drivers.
Motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to die in a crash than vehicle occupants.
Keep the following tips in mind while driving or riding:
Drivers
- Always check twice for motorcycles in your mirrors and blind spots.
- Use your signal when changing lanes.
- Never follow a motorcycle too closely. Always keep a safe distance.
- When at an intersection, allow enough space before turning.
Motorcyclists:
- Always wear a DOT compliant helmet and protective gear like gloves and leather clothing.
- Consider adding reflective tape to your clothing to make it easier for other drivers to see you.
- Keep your lights on at all times, even during the day.
- Don’t assume drivers see you: signal well in advance before changing lanes and watch for turning vehicles.
- Although lane splitting is legal, the practice is not encouraged at high speeds in free-flowing traffic, or between large vehicles like big rigs and motor homes.
Funding for motorcycle safety enforcement operations are provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
maybe remind them that public roads aren’t race tracks
I know right. Cars these days are insane. Especially on hwy 4. I see them every day.
Maybe ticket the lane splitting at stop lights. Why to motorcycle drivers lane split at stop lights then stop in the crosswalk to be in front of cars?
I have no sympathy for these morons and honestly 99% of motorcycle drivers are jerks on the road.
Content to know they are 28 times more likely to be involved in a life changing accident.
@ momosfriend
Perhaps no citations were be issued because there are no California vehicle code sections that expressly make lane splitting by vehicles illegal.
As of August 19th, 2016 with the signing of California Assembly Bill 51, Former Gov. Jerry Brown made lane splitting or “lane sharing” officially legal in California.
Unwise, dangerous? Maybe, but it is perfectly legal.
PS: I find it disturbing that you are happy people will be involved in life changing accidents simply because their actions bother you. Maturity level of a child.
I’ll bet you’re fun at parties. Splitting to the front at stoplights is perfectly legal. They do it so they don’t have to be behind you.
The reason motorcycles get up front is for safety reasons. It’s safer for a motorcycle to be out in front of all of the cars and not stuck in a pack where they are less visible. The DMV riding manual states this as well. People don’t see motorcycles. So motorcycle riders go to the safest spot. In front of cars where people are looking. Not next to them where there is a chance of not being seen.
“The reason motorcycles get up front is for safety reasons.”
Yes, of course. It has NOTHING to do with getting in front of the cars ahead of them.
@Janus
Apparently you read my comment and do not understand what I stated. I understand lane splitting is legal in California. What is not legal is stopping a motor vehicle in a pedestrian crosswalk. Exactly what I wrote earlier.
These motorcycle cycle riders are a perfect example of being a jerk when they stop in a crosswalk.
Nope, lane splitting at stoplights does not make motorcycling any safer. It’s just a jackass move by children of Jackasses.
Oh, btw Janus your lack of intelligence is what I find disturbing.
Noisy warm weather, obnoxious idiots. Try policing Clayton, Denkinger, and Treat. I’m sick of the noise and danger.
I couldn’t agree more. These loud exhausts on these cars and trucks is getting out of hand. And you are right, with the warm weather the loud bass from these car stereos is getting old. I just don’t understand why the police aren’t pulling these people over for the noise.
No noise ordinance in concord so it is not illegal. Nice try sir 👍
Actually NG, there are vehicle code sections for both the loud stereo and the loud exhaust issues.
When one has been driving for a while, one develops a feel for the right distance to follow another vehicle. It becomes instinctive to keep the correct gap between your car and the one in front without actually having to calculate the distance each time. However, the downside of this natural, automatic distancing is that it doesn’t work behind a motorbike. This is because there are so few bikes compared to cars and you get used to following other cars at the right distance. If the bike and rider are, say, one third the width of a car, you will follow at one third of the distance that you should. You’ll creep closer until the angle subtended at the eye by the side-to-side limits of the motorcycle is the same angle you’d notice when following a car, which puts you too close. When behind a motorbike you have to forget the instinct, pretend the bike is the same width as a car and drop back to the correct distance for that.
This is the equivalent of having a special enforcement to make sure people are driving safely around Smart cars. Utter nonsense. If a motorcyclist wants to take the extra risk of driving one in traffic that’s on them. Sh*t happens
Start nailing all of them that have hid there license plates behind the tire. 99% of those idiots are the ones causing problems
You must have seen the idiot on Taylor Blvd the other day. Idiot was driving down Taylor towards Contra Costa Blvd from Morello … pulling multiple wheelies and front tire stands …
O and yeah, his plate was ‘bent’ up under the rear faring so it could not be seen …
I do not wish harm on anyone, but I will not feel bad if he wipes out. My prayer is that the idiot has medical insurance and he does not hurt anyone else when he does wipe out.
Motorcycles are good for everyone. You can cram many motorcycles into one car spot, with huge dividends paid in traffic congestion. There are huge advantages for everyone.
“The study, which was presented at the Association des Constructeurs Européens de Motocycles (ACEM) 2012 Conference in Brussels, found that if 10 percent of all private cars were replaced by motorcycles in the traffic flow of the test area, total time losses for all vehicles decreased by 40 percent and total emissions reduced by 6 percent (1 percent from the different traffic composition of more emission-reduced motorcycles and 5 percent from avoided traffic congestion). A 25 percent modal shift from cars to motorcycles was found to eliminate congestion entirely.”
https://newatlas.com/motorcycles-reduce-congestion/21420/