Cape Girardeau police remind motorcyclists, drivers about road safety

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - We’ll see more motorcycles on the road as the weather warms up; and local riders and police have a few tips about staying safe on the road.

Lt. Rick Schmidt with the Cape Girardeau Police Department said it’s important for drivers and riders to be aware of their surroundings because anything can happen.

”We’re all on the road,” he said. “We all have to pay attention to each other.”

He said riders and drivers both have an important role to play.

“We have to lookout for ourselves that’s number one, but we also have to look out for number two, number three, because if we don’t take care of each other then tragedies are gonna happen,” Lt. Schmidt said.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 6,000 riders died in motorcycle crashes in 2021, the most since 1975. The data also shows motorcyclists made up 14 percent of all fatal crashes that year.

“Right angle crashes are the most serious for a motorcyclist, whether they’re in the right or not their gonna lose,” said John Davis, riding academy manager with Lawless Harley Davidson.

Over at Lawless Harley Davidson in Scott City, Davis said safety is a top priority when talking to riders.

“We tend to make mistakes ourselves, going a little too fast in a curb or something like that, so that’s something that riders have to be cognitive of they need to pay attention to what the cars are doing make sure to make eye contact,” Davis said.

Lt. Schmidt said it’s important everyone works together to keep each other safe.

“If we don’t help each other, we’re not gonna make it. That goes for bicyclists, walkers, riders and a much broader scale. We want everybody to go home in the same condition when they left the house to start with,” said Lt. Schmidt.

According to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, in 2022 there were 151 motorcyclist deaths on Missouri roads.

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