Friends of Lucas Bermudez worried when he took up motorcycle riding.

With the national rate of motorcycle fatalities 28 times higher than those involving motor vehicles, who could blame them? Especially in Southern California, where motorcycle deaths are so common they only make the news when they cause a major traffic tie-up.

Noemi Martinez watches a rider during an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

Jonathan Fernandez instructs riders to lean during an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

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Students take an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

Noemi Martinez communicates with a student on a breaking exercise during an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

Students take an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)



A student rides around Altadena Elementary School during an AMO motorcycle safety class on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in Altadena. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

A student rides around Altadena Elementary School during an AMO motorcycle safety class on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in Altadena. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

Jonathan Fernandez instructs a rider during an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

AMO teaches a motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)

Students take an AMO motorcycle safety class at Altadena Elementary School in Altadena on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Motorcycle safety classes can help combat the rise in motorcycle collisions and fatalities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star News/SCNG)



On the night of Memorial Day, Bermudez, 27, rode his motorcycle straight into a big rig truck and was killed on impact.

The Los Angeles County coroner listed his place of death as Mountain Avenue and the 210 Freeway in Monrovia.

“I basically cried for three days straight,” said Nicky Aguilar, 26, roommate and 10-year friend. “I was really mad and I tore up my room.”

Aguilar, a substitute teacher who shared an east Pasadena home with Bermudez, said she remembers friends telling him always to wear padded gear when riding.

But that day, he cruised the westbound lanes of the busy freeway wearing only cut-off jeans and a T-shirt, she said.

Silent epidemic

No one knows if proper protective attire would’ve made a difference.

What is known is that Bermudez’s death is not shocking, nor particularly newsworthy. His was one of at least half-a-dozen motorcycle fatalities in Southern California in a 30-day span that garnered only a few sentences in newspapers.

Motorcycle-involved fatalities have more than doubled since 1997. The silent epidemic traditionally kills the most victims in summer — that number usually highest in the month of July.

The death toll has authorities reaching for new tools, from awareness campaigns, to riding classes to free fluorescent vests to slow the carnage.

The recent legalization of lane-splitting — whereby riders are permitted to squeeze between cars on the freeway — has added to the safety concerns for motorcyclists and automobile drivers. Lax licensing laws may also be a factor, experts say.

“Our slogan is: We want you to get licensed, but also to get trained and wear the right gear,” said Officer Jeremy Quigley, of the California Highway Patrol’s Motorcycle Safety Division, which offers two-day courses in how to ride a motorcycle at 100 sites throughout the state.

The CHP even bought 10,000 green fluorescent vests to give riders to increase their visibility, a new program started two months ago to stem the wave of deaths that shows little sign of cresting.

While there are some signs these latest efforts may be paying off, the highway death toll is staggering.

From 1994 to 2016, motorcyclist fatalities continued to rise, from 5.7 percent of the total number of motor vehicle deaths in the United States to more than 14 percent of all traffic fatalities — even though motorcycles make up just 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States.

Human factors

The number of motorcycle fatalities went from 2,320 in 1994 to 5,286 in 2016.

From 2015-2016, the number of deaths jumped 6 percent, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) released as part of the Governors’ May 2018 report, “Motorcyclist Traffic Fatalities by State.”

California ranks in the top 15 of the 50 states in fatalities. Nevada claimed the highest rate: 22.6 percent.

Motorcycle deaths in California accounted for 15.1 percent of total motor vehicle deaths in 2016. That year, 566 motorcyclists were killed in the state — an 11 percent increase from 494 deaths in 2015, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. That doesn’t include the 14,400 motorcyclists injured.

For 2017, a report released in May from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows a significant drop in motorcyclist fatalities. Preliminary data show California fatalities dropped from 566 to 406 in 2017, a 28.3 percent decrease, while U.S. fatalities fell 5.6 percent..

But the report says one year’s un-reviewed data “are a testament to the year-to-year variability of motorcyclist deaths across the country, and the difficulty to control for contributing factors … (and) may not be an ongoing trend in this direction.”

It also warns that impaired driving due to alcohol abuse, legalized marijuana, excessive speed, distracted driving and new, faster bikes, along with climate change causing an increase in the number of riding days, are uncontrollable factors driving up motorcycle collisions.

“At the end of the day it is up to the individual rider to get smart,” Quigley said.

Curves, braking, balancing

Lane-splitting or lane-sharing is legal in California, the only state with such a law with a reported benefit of reducing freeway congestion and air pollution, according to the Governors’ report.

This usually occurs in the carpool (HOV) lane where riders have more room to pass motorists, according to Charlie Fernandez, general manager of the Southern California-based Academy of Motorcycle Operation. The company is contracted by the Victorville-based Total Control Training to hold two-day motorcycle classes.

The CHP believes AMO’s classes — about 16 hours of training that includes the safest way to split lanes — will help prevent accidents.

“Some come back and say: your class saved my life. I was in a near miss but I did the things I was taught,” Fernandez said.

The sharing of the carpool lane can cause conflicts or a vicious traffic collision such as one that happened about this time last year involving a case of road rage.

A June 2017 video went viral showing a motorcycle rider reacting when a sedan cut in front in the carpool lane of the southbound Highway 14 in Newhall. The footage shows the rider of the orange motorcycle kicking the driver’s side of the sedan, causing the sedan to lose control and collide into another car.

After an eight-month investigation, motorcyclist Andrew Flanigan, 45, of Arleta, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, felony hit and run and reckless driving.

The lollipop test

On a blacktop playground in Altadena, 11 men and women sat impatiently on side-by-side motorcycles.

One at a time, they would inch forward as Fernandez’s son Jonathan instructed, “Now give it a little throttle.”

The riders practiced their skills in balance, speed, turning, distance and most importantly, braking. Too hard and it could lead to a wipe out, Fernandez explained.

“Learning how to stop requires downshifting,” Fernandez said. “Even at these speeds, letting out the clutch too fast can be disruptive and cause a skid.”

New riders under 21 years old must take the two-day training at a CHP-certified center. But for those 21 and over, the classes are not required, said Quigley.

Instead, riders take a written test, hold a permit for six months and must pass a DMV road test Quigley called “the lollipop test,” referring to the shape of the road drill.

“It is very basic. You have to zigzag through a couple of cones, ride in a pattern and shift gears. After that you pass and get your M1 license,” Quigley said.

Motorcyclists ride a 600-pound bike with no protection. Colliding with a 4,000-pound steel car means getting hurt is certain and injuries are often fatal, said the report. While only 20 percent of car crashes result in injury or death, that figure jumps to 80 percent for motorcycle crashes, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Helmets are about 37-percent effective in preventing motorcycle deaths, and about 67-percent effective in preventing brain injuries, according to the Governors’ report.

Wearing pads, even leather, can help prevent injuries sometimes, Quigley said. As a rider himself, he’s begun wearing a reflective vest that helps riders become more visible to motorists.

“I’ve always been a black material rider. But now I’m seeing more riders wear reflectorized vests,” he said.

Irony in death

Lucas Bermudez graduated from Pasadena High School in 2009. He liked to play guitar and trumpet, even mimicking Frank Sinatra, Aguilar said.

He went through several low-paying jobs, including becoming a veterinarian’s assistant.

After being an independent truck driver, he became a member of the local union driving big rigs, something he told his friends felt like a career.

Aguilar said that it was ironic that he crashed into a big rig truck while riding his motorcycle.

At his funeral at Cabot & Sons in Pasadena on June 7, hundreds gathered to pay respects and remember the man who was funny, real, and a reliable friend who’d drop everything to help others in need, she said.

“He was great. He was funny. And he had the most shining personality,” Aguilar said. “I could rely on him more than anybody else.”

Facts about motorcyclist fatalities

• Over the past four years, riders 40 and older made up the largest percentage of motorcyclists fatalities, about 55 percent of all riders killed in 2013 and 54 percent in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

• In Washington state, the largest group of fatalities are males ages 18-29 riding sport bikes also known as “super-sports” that can reach speeds of up to 180 mph.

• Most crashes involving motorcycles are single-vehicle crashes.

• 48 percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2016 occurred on weekends. Those deaths were more likely to occur after 6 p.m.

• About 26 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers in 2016 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent.

• 68 percent of the female motorcyclists who died in crashes in 2016 were passengers. The vast majority of male motorcyclists who died were drivers.