Motorcycle Sales Rise, CHP Pushes Safety

The summer travel season is nearly here, and the price of gasoline has many people thinking about ways to save, including getting back on their motorcycles and scooters.

Gayle Berkeley was passing through from northern California.

Most days she uses her car to get around, but more often now she’s on her Harley.

“A lot more bikes on the road today. There’s a big difference from a month ago,” said Berkeley.

Part of the reason is gas prices, according to Berkeley.

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in California remains well above $4 a gallon.

Motorcycles and scooters get better gas mileage than most fuel-efficient cars. Some bikes get an average from 40 miles per gallon to more than 100 miles per gallon.

Autoline Magazine reports motorcycle sales jumped about 7 percent since January.

The Motorycle Industry Council reports gas-powered scooters are more popular, with a sales spike of almost 50 percent.

Valley motorcycle dealerships said sales haven’t increased, because many people bought their bikes the last time gas prices spiked two years ago.

Still, more sales means more safety concerns.

According to the California Highway Patrol, local motorcycle crashes have dropped since 2008.

Officers say it’s because people are taking motorcycle safety classes.

“You can’t run over a piece of tire tread, and that has a much more sever consequence running over debris on a motorcycle that it does an automobile,” said Officer Joe Zagorski. “So you have to be more aware of the road ahead of you as a motorcyclist in addition to the vehicles next to you as well as from behind.”

Berkeley agrees.

“Sometimes they tend to tailgate. They ride too close and if some guy’s brake lights don’t work, you don’t have any reaction time to stop,” said Berkeley.

Zagorski warns other drivers to watch out for motorcyclists because they’re hard to see.

While May is motorcycle safety awareness month, Zagorski says drivers should be safe every day.