Texas Statewide Motorcycle Safety Coalition

Name: Texas Statewide Motorcycle Safety Coalition
Start: 2020-06-25T11:00:00-05:00
End: 2020-06-25T12:30:00-05:00
Location: Webex Conference Call

June 25, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm CDT

Location

Webex Conference Call

Organizers

Texas A&M Transportation Institute Texas Department of Transportation

25 Jun 10:00 am

Coalition

Texas Statewide Motorcycle Safety Coalition

Webex Conference Call
10:00 am - 11:30 am

Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition Meeting Minutes
Date: June 25, 2020
Time: 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (CDT)
Location: Via WebEx

Opening Remarks & Introduction (C. Beireis & M. Manser)

Mike Manser welcomed everyone to the TMSC meeting; Chris Beireis had a conflict that prevented him from attending today. Approximately 50 people attended by WebEx.

WebEx Refresher (M. Manser)

Mike demonstrated how to use the WebEx chat box to provide comments during the meeting, and invited participants to contact TTI through the Contact Us page on LookLearnLive.org.

DPS and TDLR Updates (C. Flores and M. Strawn)

Cindy Flores addressed some questions that had come in from TMSC about current numbers of rider coaches in Texas:

Q: Where are things with instructor training for the state? A: We have nothing scheduled beyond the two concurrent July instructor training courses.
Q: How many new ridercoaches have been certified so far this year? A: None since we haven’t held any instructor training courses yet. We have spoken to 4 MSF instructors moving to Texas and seeking approval, but we’re not sure if they’ll be able to complete the application process before the program transfers to TDLR.
Q: How many candidates passed/failed those initial sessions? A: None as the courses are scheduled for July.
Q: How many are set for the next (last) RCP in July? A: 20; 10 in concurrent courses.
Q: How many ridercoaches/instructors have we lost since January (dropped out/moved, etc.)? A: I’m not able to pull records based on an inactivity date, however I can tell you that we’ve had a couple suspended, a few moved out of state and one passed away. So, roughly I’d say we’re at a net of 6 from the start of the year.

In response to a question received during the meeting, Cindy estimated that there are 325-350 motorcycle instructors statewide at the moment (Keith Rovell added in the chat that the motorcycle training site currently shows 276 who are currently certified to teach the Basic Rider Course.) It is difficult to state the need for coaches in terms of total statewide numbers, due to the variation by location and how many classes each training sponsor is trying to schedule; some sponsors in the state have all the coaches that they need right now, others are experiencing a shortage of instructors in their area. DPS is still re-certifying coaches, and transferring information over to TDLR as TDLR requests it.

Mike Arismendez TDLR reported that proposed rules for the TDLR motorcycle safety program were published in the Texas Register on June 12, 2020: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/pdf/backview/0612/0612prop.pdf. Comments on the proposed rules can be submitted at https://ga.tdlr.texas.gov:1443/form/gcerules. TDLR invites everyone to make comments, whether as an individual or representing a group/organization.

DPS and TDLR are working on transferring some assets such as motorcycles, trailers, and other training-related equipment; the agencies have a meeting planned for July. Due to COVID, they’ve had to figure out different ways of handling the transition. The Motorcycle Advisory Board has had its first meeting, and minutes will be posted soon at https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/mot/motboard.htm.

Kyle McNew added that following the comments period on the proposed TDLR rules, TEEX will be getting back with TDLR to keep working toward what the final motorcycle instruction will look like. John Young is staying involved as well.

Mike Manser reported that is TTI is thinking through what needs to be in place for the education/outreach portion of the motorcycle safety program so it will be ready to move forward on September 1.

COVID and Motorcycle Crashes (M. Perez)

Marcie Perez of TTI presented some recent data about motorcycle crashes during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the total number of crashes for all road users in Texas went down in March and April of 2020 as compared to the same time in 2019, fatal crashes have not reduced as much.

For motorcycles, in February and early March of 2020 there were more crashes than in the same months of 2019. In mid-March through April, motorcycle crashes started reducing, as people were starting to stay home more in response to the pandemic. However, in May those numbers began to rise again. Injury crashes among motorcycle riders are down somewhat in 2020 so far, but motorcycle fatalities are not.

There have been fewer multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles in 2020 so far, but motorcycle single-vehicle crashes and fatalities are up. Impairment-related crashes are down in 2020 so far compared to 2019. Helmet use is similar overall for both years, but so far there has been an increase in the percentage of riders killed who were not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash (45% in 2019 to 52% so far in 2020).

Some screenshots of the data Marcie presented are included at the end of these meeting minutes.

Paige Ericson-Graber responded to a question about unlicensed riders. She is leading a project which is developing a postcard to be mailed out in late July/early August to everyone with a motorcycle registered in Texas who does not have a motorcycle endorsement (close to 80,000 postcards at this point). The postcard will remind and encourage unlicensed riders to get training.

Awards Group Update/Input (M. Manser)

This is a group developing an award for someone in the community (individual, business, etc.) who has done something positive for motorcycle safety. A few members of this group met recently to discuss award criteria, the nomination and evaluation processes. A nomination form is needed and will be developed. Thanks to Jonnita Brown and Rich Richman for their work on this effort. If you would like to get involved, email LookLearnLive.org through the Contact Us page: https://www.looklearnlive.org/contact/

LLL Website Update (M. Manser)

Mike Manser and Olivia Thomas showed attendees the updated design of the LookLearnLive website, which is being reorganized to make information on motorcycle safety news and resources easier to find. All the information on TMSC meetings will be put in one location (agendas, minutes, etc.) on the site. The website sections will continue to be expanded and developed with new information, such as the updated information on rider training that will be coming from TDLR. The updated website will be made public during the next couple of weeks; it will be announced on LLL’s social media.

Rider Safety Topics to Address this Year (M. Manser)

The new contract year for motorcycle safety outreach efforts begins October 1. Mike asked for attendees to list new topics that they would be interested in addressing in the coming year. These could include alcohol involvement, licensing, environmental factors, and more. Suggestions and comments from the chat included:

Are there topic ideas we can pull from the crash data sets?
Alcohol still needs to be a focus area.
Unlicensed / untrained riders
Any ideas or discussions on e-course? We all waste too much time chasing down students to get them completed before class, i have a couple of ideas myself
MC dealers are a prime area for introduction to safety and responsibilities.
You already hit on the coach problem, attracting new coaches, training, training facilities, etc.
Something simplified for riders to obtain instead of looking at a ton of brochures.

Updates and Open Forum (C. Beireis)

Mike invited any other questions and comments from attendees. He also invited Olivia Thomas to talk about LLL’s social media efforts. We are trying to increase followers and shares on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram); if you follow us on social media, please share to spread those messages and content with others you know – it’s a really powerful tool for reaching lots of people.

Adjourn

The meeting adjourned at 11:37 a.m.

Attendees who signed in on chat:

Bruce Raymond
Cindy Kovar
Harry Whipple
Heather Singleton
Joel Morris
Jonnita Brown
Keith Rovell
Kelly Howard
Ken Copeland
Kyle McNew
Marcie Perez
Olivia Thomas
Royce Pritchard
Jolie Person
Jude Schexnyder
Brook C
Sal Carmona
Sedrick Montgomery
Virginia Galindo
Floyesc
Mike Arismendez
Paige Ericson-Graber
John Young
Lmartin9
Blanca Trevino-Castro
Robert White
Cindy Flores
Eric Alba Webb
Drbump – Maurice Maness
James H
Tish Beaver
Sandra
Rodney Elizondo
Nicole Tyler
Melissa McKnight
Linda Jones
JWilkers
Jeff Alford
JKane
Amy Jo Miller