May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

May 1 officially kicked off Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, an initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Department of Driver Services Commissioner Bert Brantley encourages motorcyclists to be aware of your surroundings and use caution. The Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program ( GMSP) and the Department of Driver Services (DDS) are reminding all motorists to safely “Share the Road” with motorcycles.

With the warmer weather in full force, roads are filled with motorists of all sorts. The GMSP is encouraging motorcycle riders to stay visible and follow basic safety rules on the roads. Tom Komjathy, the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program Manager states that many times motorcyclists are not seen by other road users and motorcyclists can increase visibility to other road users by:

Wearing brightly colored protective gear during the day

Using highly reflective material at night on protective gear and motorcycle

Positioning yourself in traffic to be seen

Communicate your intentions to other road users with turn and hand signals

In addition, ride/ drive alert, be prepared and ready to avoid dangerous situations. Share the responsibility of keeping the roads safe and share the road. As always, ride/drive smart and sober or get pulled over.

The Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program ( GMSP) is a part of the Georgia Department of Driver Services. In addition to offering rider education and licensing programs, the GMSP also promotes motorist awareness programs, share the road campaigns, and is focused on highway safety issues affecting Georgia motorcyclists. The GMSP directly operates training sites throughout Georgia. GMSP offers low cost, professional training to assist riders in improving their skills with a Basic Riders Course; Basic Rider Course 2 (Formally the “Experienced Rider Course”) and an Advanced Riders Course.