2023 Texas Motorcycle Safety Forum

2023 Texas Motorcycle Safety Forum
April 1, 2023, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
Embassy Suites Hotel Conference Center, San Marcos, Texas

Welcome from the Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition (TMSC)
Maurice Maness, TMSC Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Welcome from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
Carol Campa, TxDOT, discussed the data from CRIS showed an increase in lives lost from 2016 – 2019. There is an expected increase in lives lost, which makes safety a top priority. The responsibility lies on everyone that is on the road. In May of 2019 we set a goal of zero deaths by 2050. Deaths on the road in Texas should be cut in half by 2035. Find your TSS to see how you can become involved and help.

Update from the national Highway traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Becky Walker, NHTSA Region 6, gave a welcome stating that this was one of her favorite conferences. She recognized Exzentrius Sturdivant, a highway safety specialist at NHTSA, based out of Dallas, Texas, in the audience. She discussed how NHTSA was data driven and that they create countermeasures based on that data. She discussed events and activities that were happening in Region 6, that included events in other states. Motorcycle Aware Campaigns include safety rallies, press releases, public service announcements, and safety campaigns. Texas projects include addressing issues like, motorcycle rider training, speeding, wearing protective gear, and riding sober.

Keynote
Chris Symons, Veteran, small business owner, family man, motorcycle crash survivor.

In 2001 Chris Symons was so moved by the events of 9/11, that he decide to enlist in the Army. During that time, he was sent to Iraq. In 2005, he came back to civilian life and opened his own business, Aggieland Garage Doors.  Eight months after he left the military, he went on a motorcycle ride with his brother and father. He had been drinking the night before and was still hungover at the time of the ride. He was not wearing a helmet, when he decided to pass a slow-moving van on a two-lane highway. He hit a truck traveling in the opposite direction while his dad and brother looked on. He died and came back to life as two off duty EMTs stopped to help. The LifeFlight helicopter took him to Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston where Red Duke operated on him to save his life. He lost an arm and a leg due to the crash. He showed various pictures of the crash scene and his healing process. He regrets what he has put his family through. He shared what life was like with a prosthetic leg. It took him a year to learn how to walk again. Every day the prosthetic leg fits a little different and he must take time each morning to learn how to walk again. He has a 10lb range that he needs to keep his weight between so that the leg will fit correctly. Every part of his life has been affected. He took several questions, and then he recognized his family members that were present for his keynote. He closed by saying that the ripple effect of his wreck never ends.

Unlicensed to Ride, Encouraging Riders to Get Training
Cody Stewart from TTI presented the following data to the group.

• 41% of motorcycle crashes are single vehicle
• In 2022, 535 of the motorcycle crashes ended in operator fatality.
• 47% were not wearing a helmet
• 44% were impaired
• 318 of the drivers were unlicensed at the time of the crash in 2021
• 63% of the fatalities were unlicensed vs 16% of unlicensed car drivers

Cody’s team was tasked with the question, “What can we do to help?”

In 2019, focus groups were surveyed in Dallas, Austin, and El Paso. The three main obstacles identified by unlicensed drivers were 1) The cost involved in taking classes, 2) availability of classes, and 3) education.

Among licensed riders, the following topics were prioritized as follows: 1) education, 2) availability, 3) financial aid, 4) law enforcement, and 5) penalties.

The results and ideas that came out of the focus groups were incentives, social media marketing, motorcycle dealer promotions, and reducing costs.

Cody’s group cross referenced motorcycle registration addresses with Class M license addresses and sent post cards where there was a registered motorcycle, but no licensed rider. The post cards gave the recipient information on getting their license.

FY2020/2021 Project Evaluation

• Severely limited by COVID
• Time frame of pulling data was less
• 4991 postcard recipients from postcards sent in August of 2020 “matched” (meaning received license since 2019 mailout)
• 3731 post card recipients from postcard sent in August of 2021 “matched” (meaning received license since 2020 mailout)

Questions, answers, and comments:

• Does education for people with learning disabilities exist (unknown)
• Do clubs ask if their members have their M class endorsement? (unknown)
• What are the numbers of uninsured riders vs unlicensed riders? (unknown)
• “People move to Texas and believe assumed information.”
• Some colleges offer free motorcycle classes (Illinois)
  • Classes are more successful if there is a fee
  • Class coupons can be put on a postcard
• Is there anything in the current driver education curriculum about motorcycle safety?
  • Motorcycle safety, yes. There are minimum requirements for Driver Education to include motorcycle safety awareness.
  • Information regarding motorcycle licensing is not required.

ATLATT (All the Laws All the Time)
Ford Strawn, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)

Program related enhancements at TDLR:

• Simplified the range approval process.
• Areas of instruction have been deregulated.
• Bring a new licensing system to schools and instructors.

The former process for schools to submit an application took nine steps. The new process is four steps.

To stay aware and updated on find current bills being considered,

• Go to Texas Legislature Online – Texas.gov
• Create an account to save preferences and searches.
• Click on email updates to receive notices of status changes.

There are three steps to help guide legislation.

1. Watch
2. Review
3. Comment

Legislatures need to hear from the motorcycle community on what is helpful and what is not. You can search for any bill from any session on TLO. (TLO -> My TLO -> Search) View the bill, fiscal note, analysis, and each version of the bill. Be sure and look at when the bill takes effect.

Law VS Rule – What is the difference?

A law is like the framework of a house and a rule is like the interior design.

Filed Bills in the 88^th Texas Legislative Session that affect motorcyclists include the following:

• SB261 – definition of an assembled vehicle
• SB505 – and HB2199 – related to imposing additional fees for the registration of an electric vehicle
• SB1182 – Motor vehicle registration and license plates
• SB568 & HB5147 – rules of the road regarding red signals at certain traffic control signals
• SB478 – Relating to the administration of the motorcycle operator training and safety program and requirements for the issuance of certain driver’s licenses and commercial driver’s licenses; requiring an occupational license; authorizing a fee. (There is a good chance this bill will go through. It repeals the grant program.)

Constituents need to let legislatures know what is helpful and what is hurting the motorcycle community.

Evidence (and not so evidence) Based Strategies and Suggestions to Reduce Impaired Riding
Michael Fields, Former Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No14

At 18 years old, he was given a DWI that has stayed on his record. He has been on all sides and most positions in a court of law. He was part of a think tank that wanted to discourage underage drinking and hardcore drinking and driving among adults.

Possible solutions to consider:

• Helmet laws
• Ignition Interlock device (personal breathalyzer)
• Permanent vehicle impoundment in DWI cases
• Have older riders retake the test
• Restrict the size and weight of the bike a person can ride
• Lane splitting saves lives
• Registration should be linked to license
• The AMA representative suggested the M class be an additional license like CDL

Sorry My Car Didn’t See You – The State of Automation and Motorcycling
Tiffany Cipoletti of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) spoke on advances in vehicle automation and how that might affect motorcycle safety.  Currently, most vehicles available for purchase have advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), but this is a long way from “self-driving”.  While many of these systems (blind-spot warnings, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control) can make the driving task easier, it’s important for drivers not to overestimate how much the vehicle can do on its own. NHTSA is pushing out education on this, but misconceptions still spread.

A preliminary study of ADAS systems in 2016 found that the systems missed detecting motorcycles in about 40% of trials. A 2022 study tested automatic emergency braking in an ADAS-equipped vehicle with a motorcycle as the lead vehicle; the automatic braking was successful (not striking the lead motorcycle) in some instances but was less successful at higher speeds and for some lane positions.  There is still a long way to go in making vehicle automation systems consistent in detecting motorcycles.

The Department of Transportation can only do what the law allows, and the law takes a while to catch up to technological innovations.  The AMA is trying to raise awareness of the fact that motorcycles are being left out of the law and rule-making surrounding automated vehicles.  Automation has a lot of promise for reducing multi-vehicle crashes, and we want to maximize the opportunities to make motorcyclists safer.

There are some advanced technologies that are being developed and tested for motorcycles.  These have a long way to go as well, but there may be some promising developments in that area.

Motorcycle Crashes: Causes and Contributing Factors
Carl Meaux, Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionists (ACTAR)

Carl spoke of his experience as a police officer in Harris County. In his current profession, he has seen an increase in motorcycle crash calls. His wife is a nurse who also sees patients because of motorcycle crashes. He showed slides of riders without any gear and then discussed the importance of at least having helmets and boots. There have been improvements to safety gear, such as inflatable jackets and air bags on Hondas. Impairment is still a leading cause of deaths.

Another area to focus on for safety is lighting. During civil twilight the glare can prevent drivers from seeing other on the road. Ground effects lighting can help, as well as retroreflective tape. These both catch the driver’s eye.

Speed and carelessness are another contributing factor to fatal motorcycle crashes. It is difficult for car drivers to judge how fast a motorcycle is going.

“It is your road. Others can ride it with you, but no one can ride it for you. Safe Travels”

Accident Scene Management – A crash Course for the Motorcyclist

Penni (Gypsy)Fuller, Accident Scene Management (ASM)

Texas Trauma and LifeSaver Training, LLC – https://www.txtraumalifesaver.com/

Accident Scene Management – Road Guardians – https://roadguardians.org/

PACT

P – Prevent Further Injury (Scene Safety)

A – Assess the Situation (to look for life threats and gather information for your 911 call)

C – Contact the EMS (Do not delay! Call while doing step one and two if you have a cell phone signal and do not have to leave the scene to call for help)

T – Treat the injured with Life-Sustaining Care (using the ABCSS of Trauma to prioritize)

ABCCS

A – Airway  (determine if the person is breathing. Lift the jaw to keep the neck straight if you do not believe the person is breathing on their own). This is called Jaw thrust.

B – Breathing  (if the person is not breathing on their own keep the jaw lifted and while using a breathing barrier, give two breaths initially then one every 6 seconds).

C – Circulation (in trauma, a loss of circulation comes from bleeding. Look for and treat obvious external bleeding using Direct Pressure or a Tourniquet (arms and legs only) if necessary.

S – Shock (consider internal bleeding – elevate legs, cover the person for warmth, and STAY CALM. Do not give them anything to drink even if they ask).

S – Spinal Restriction (Less movement is better!  Keep the person as still as possible until emergency workers arrive and take over for you)

Wear latex gloves and use a CPR barrier if they are available.

First Responder Panel

1. Where is the best place to keep an ID and emergency contact information?
2. Keep it on you if possible (wallet, pocket)

Tips for improving crash scene safety:

• After a crash has occurred, all vehicles involved need to be turned off and parking brakes on if applicable. For motorcycles, turn the ignition off.
• Most students who take life saving training use it withing three years of taking the class.
• There is a “move over” law in Texas. Drop your speed by 20mph if you are passing by an accident.

Awards and Closing
Maurice Maness, TMSC Chair, presented the 2023 Motorcycle Safety Awards. Photos and descriptions to be posted on the Look Learn Live website.

• Difference Maker: MCrider – Kevin Morris.
• Champion: Chris Litfin

Maurice then thanked all the speakers and panel members for sharing their time and expertise, TxDOT and NHTSA for sponsoring, and the TTI staff for organizing and supporting the event. He especially thanked all who took the time to attend.

Announcement:

• There will be no Motorcycle Safety Forum in 2024.
• Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition meetings will continue next year.
• The next Coalition meeting to be held August 17, 2023, at 10:00 am; in-person, virtual, or hybrid to be determine.
• Promotional materials for local events can be ordered by contacting Cathy Brooks [email protected].
• TxDOT District Traffic Safety Specialist should have Look Twice materials, including yard signs.

Let’s share the word, share the road, and Ride Safe!