Northern Nevada is seeing an alarming number of fatal motorcycle crashes. Law enforcement says the majority of crashes they are seeing are caused by the rider themselves.
While each crash is different, and are sometimes caused by other drivers, the majority of what Reno Police and Nevada State Police are seeing this year is excessive speed, reckless driving, and driving under the influence.
“In the past, we've seen sometimes a lot of motorcycle fatalities have been the result of interactions with other vehicles, meaning a motorcyclist has been cut off or isn’t seen and someone changes lanes into them, that doesn’t seem to be the case with most of the crashes this year,” said Lieutenant Michael Browett with the Reno Police Department.
With a rise in serious and fatal motorcycle crashes, as well as the weather warming up prompting even more riders to hit the road, Lieutenant Browett says the number of serious motorcycle crashes will only go up.
"Reno itself in the last 30 days has seen four major injury motorcycle crashes, three of which have resulted in fatal injuries to the motorcycle operators. Regionally we have seen far more than that."
Browett says these numbers are alarming, as 2020 was reno's worst year for motorcycle fatalities...which was only eight.
As for northern Nevada highways, in the last month, there have been about nine fatal motorcycle crashes that Nevada State Police responded to, which accounts for nearly half of all fatal crashes in that timeframe.
The Reno Police Department was awarded a special grant to provide increased enforcement against reckless and aggressive motorcyclists... but Browett says the goal is not to write tickets.
“what we are really after is to influence the choice that you made. Man, if people would do that on their own without us having to issue them a citation to illicit that behavior change, that would be fantastic."
Here are some things those on motorcycles should remember:
- It is the law to wear a helmet
- Wear bright colored or reflective clothing so you can be easily seen
- Never drive under the influence
- Follow the speed limit.
RPD also wants to remind riders that it is illegal in the state of Nevada to split lanes and drive between cars...and it can result in serious injury. Browett goes on to say it's even riskier for riders to split lanes here in Nevada, not only for the ticket but also because drivers here are not used to motorcycles splitting lanes, and they are not checking their mirror to make a lane change to see if there's a motorcycle coming up in between cars.
