News Release Thursday, May 5, 2016

Enforcement Operations and Motorcycle Rider Training NR16143lp

The Los Angeles Police Department to Conduct Enforcement Operations and Encourage Motorcycle Rider Training



'May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month'



Los Angeles:

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will be conducting a specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations on May 1st, 7th, and the 14th, in an effort to lower traffic-related fatalities and injuries. Extra officers will be patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle-related traffic collisions occur. Officers will be looking for violations made by driver and riders alike that can lead to motorcycle collisions. The officers will be focusing on those operating motor vehicles and motorcyclists who are violating traffic laws.Motorcycle fatalities jumped dramatically in California by over 28 percent from a decade low of 352 in 2010. In 2013, 453 motorcyclists lost their lives, which is a 5 year high. California collision data reveals that the primary collision factors of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs by both drivers and riders alike.Operations like this are aimed at curtailing any future increases in motorcycle deaths and sending the numbers back downward. In 2015, traffic collisions in Los Angeles claimed the lives of 27 motorcyclists and injured 859 motorcyclists.A special Refresher Training for Experienced Riders is being offered May 14th and 15th only. To participate in the refresher training program, experienced riders with a motorcycle endorsement on their valid California driver's license are invited to bring their street-legal motorcycle, along with proof of registration and insurance, to participating CMSP training sites. Classes will run from 8:00 am to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 pm. Information and training locations are available at www.CA-msp.org or 1-877 RIDE 411 or 1-877-743-3411.Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The message to all drivers and motorcyclists is: share in the responsibility and do your part by safely "sharing the road."For further information, please contact Officer Don Inman, Traffic Coordination Section, at (213) 486-0690.