Editor, The Commercial
Due to rising gas prices and the ever rising cost of automobiles, there are now more motorcycles on the road than ever before. There are also more inexperienced motorcycle riders (bikers) on the road. Most long-time riders started out on small bikes and worked their way up to the big cruiser bikes. Many first time riders are now purchasing large bikes that they are not yet equipped to handle. I cannot stress enough the need for motorcycle safety training.
However, there is another problem that endangers all of us, and that is the alarming lack of awareness other motorists have for the rights of bikers. I can’t tell you how many stories I have heard over the years about motorists that believe motorcycles must yield to passenger cars and trucks. Often bikers are treated as if they are on a bicycle and not allowed their own portion of the roadway. Our yard signs cautioning motorists to “Look Twice — Save a Life” don’t help much if when you are noticed by drivers they don’t think you have any right to the lane. Therefore several of us have decided to approach the Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles and see to it that driver manuals are augmented to include information about motorcycle riders’ “right to the road.”
It must be made clear when young motorists are studying to take their driver test that motorcyclists have the same right to the lane as any other vehicle.
In the mean time I would ask the leaders of all the motorcycle clubs and organizations in Arkansas to step forward and contact me to lend your support.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
You may email me at: benbrad@cablelynx.com or call me at: 870-535-3641.
Ben Bradley
Pine Bluff