Better education could limit crashes

Just as sure as the leaves return to the trees each spring, disaster will befall a motorcyclist on a weekend run.

Whether it's a biker who is rusty or inexperienced or an automobile driver who hasn't reprogrammed himself to watch for bikes or is driving distracted, it's bound to happen.

But rarely do we see so much death all at once.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, six people in the Chicago area perished in three pileups involving motorcycles over the course of 20 hours. In one case, a chain reaction car crash sent a car hurtling toward a group of unwitting bikers going the other direction. Two died.

In another, three bikers were killed when a fourth used a roadway turnaround and hit them.

Blame one on a car driver; the other on a biker.

Bikers and non-bikers have always been uneasy sharers of the road. That's due in part to a lack of appreciation for one another; partly a lack of awareness. Bikes are more maneuverable, quicker and occupy smaller spaces. From a car driver's perspective all that makes them harder to monitor when you're keeping track of traffic behind you in your mirrors.

When they're in front of you, you must understand they stop faster than your car. And there are no fender benders with bikes.

The answer is not simply in making crashes less deadly - we'll get to helmets later - but to prevent more from happening.

That starts with education and tougher laws.

We advocate motorcycle awareness be taught as part of driver education. If teenagers learn to drive with an appreciation for vehicles much smaller than theirs being on the road, they'll carry that into their adulthood. Kids today also should learn about the perils of distractions.

Earlier this month, a Lake Zurich motorcyclist was killed when she was hit by a car driver who police say was putting polish on her fingernails.

We hope the proposed ban on texting while driving passes and applaud Chicago's ban on cell phone use without a headset.

Driving is serious business, people. It should not be an adjunct to eating, reading, applying makeup or watching TV. People should be held accountable for such distracting behavior.

Driving distracted is a decision - and no less reckless than drinking and driving.

But the onus here is not just on car drivers. Motorcyclists can do more to keep safe.

For starters, riders should take regular refresher safety courses. Tony Jacobazzi, safety officer with the Fox Valley chapter of the Harley Owners Group, told Daily Herald reporter Robert Sanchez that despite having ridden for 40 years he still regularly takes expert training classes. "It keeps your awareness alive," he said.

Lastly, helmets. Many states require all riders to wear helmets; most require novice riders and those younger than 18 or 21 to wear helmets. Illinois and Iowa have no helmet laws at all.

But just because they're not required doesn't mean you shouldn't wear one.