Police try to crack down on dangerous motorcycle drivers as fatalities appear to rise

It's probably the public safety complaint police and other city leaders in Springfield hear more than any other — loud, fast and dangerous motorcycles zipping through city streets late at night.

Last year there were six motorcycle fatalities in Springfield. There have been five already this year, and we haven't even made it to summer when there are far more bikes on the road.

"We try to enforce it," said Lt. Jeremy Anderson, who heads up SPD's traffic division. "We understand it's a problem and it's a focus of our nighttime traffic squad."

That can be especially difficult because motorcyclists who are already speeding or driving carelessly have a tendency to "take off" when an officers attempts a stop.

"Usually we don't pursue them," Anderson said. "It's Springfield Police Department's policy that pursuing only creates more of a hazard to the public."

Officers do their best to get enough information about the vehicle to keep an eye out for it later in the night, ideally when it's parked somewhere.

"There are places they like to get together and congregate," he said, noting well-known spots like lots near the Buffalo Wild Wings and a gas station on Battlefield Road. "So officers can go there and if they see the same motorcycle can then enforce a violation."

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But on a few select nights every year, there's a greater emphasis on enforcement, and it comes with additional resources.

Springfield police have been conducting something called Operation Safe Ride since at least 2016. It's a cooperation between SPD, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Greene County Sheriff's Office. It's made possible, at least in part, by a Hazardous Moving Violations grant.

While officers will stop any vehicle they see driving dangerously, the program is designed specifically to crack down on motorcycles.

Because troublesome motorcyclists have a habit of evading police during a stop, officers will follow typical policy and end a pursuit and the highway patrol helicopter will keep a visual on the offending driver.

"When police back off, the helicopter will follow the motorcycle until it stops somewhere else," Anderson said. "And then officers nearby can swoop in."

During the most recent operation, May 20, officers made 214 vehicle stops over the course of about seven hours.

"It was a busy night," Anderson said.

Those stops resulted in 16 arrests, five of which were for driving while intoxicated. Police also issued 13 citations and 32 warnings.

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Anderson said he's not aware of any specific trends that have caused more motorcycle fatalities lately, and the drivers involved in the dangerous activity don't fit a common description.

"It's all ages, all types of people and motorcycles," he said. "It's not just one type."

The department will conduct additional Operation Safe Ride efforts this year, as they always do. One additional thing they watch for is other vehicles driving unsafely around motorcycles.

"Usually (the driver of the larger vehicle) is just not paying attention, a phone in their hand or just distracted by something else," he said. "The most common accidents in those cases are a vehicle turning left or pulling out of a parking lot and not noticing a motorcycle."

While in some cases a speeding motorcycle may be part of the problem, that's a situation that poses problems even for safe motorcyclists.

OTC course aims to keep motorcyclists safe, aware

Plenty of riders out there are putting safety front and center, however.

Lori Leporte teaches a motorcycle safety course at Ozarks Technical Community College, as well as elsewhere in the state. She's been teaching such courses for about 13 years, the last seven in Missouri.

"I got into bicycles and eventually became a bicycle instructor, and then after that got into motorcycles and wanted to teach that," she said.

The course at OTC includes some classroom-type instructions that's primarily done online, as well as a two-day training outside with motorcycles.

Leporte said the course is designed for everyone, from those who have never sat on a bike to those that rode years earlier and just want a refresher.

It covers the parts of a motorcycle, risk management, impairment, what to watch for on the road and more.

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She echoed the statements of Lt. Anderson in asking for folks to watch out for motorcycles.

"We're smaller, we're narrower and it's harder to judge our speed," she said. "A lot of times drivers think motorcycles are moving slower than they actually are."

While the safety course isn't required to get a motorcycle endorsement for your license, Leporte recommends the course for anyone who's interested in obtaining that.

"Not only do you get that M on your license, you keep yourself alive," she said.