By Kaya DeAngelis
When Brandon George rides his motorcycle, he is always keeping a close eye on where other vehicles are on the road for his own safety.
“I’ve had a few incidents on the road of people not seeing me in their blind spot,” said Brandon George, 22-year-old Stonehill College senior, “and that’s okay, because as a rider, we are supposed to be alert and ready to adapt if something like that happens.”
He knows that riding a motorcycle can be risky, especially if riders are reckless and don’t take proper safety precautions.
In 2023, there were 6,335 motorcyclists killed in accidents, consisting of 15 percent of all traffic fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). That’s the highest number of motorcyclists killed since 1975.
Some motorcyclists say it is the responsibility of the rider to avoid these tragic accidents. George said that riders need to be aware and make safe choices on the road.
“I know a ton of guys who preach motorcycle safety but will go 120 miles an hour on the highway,” he said.
Robert Grinnell, a 22-year-old from Falmouth, Massachusetts said that taking a safety course is something every rider on the road should do.
“If you don’t know how to ride a motorcycle, like if you don’t take any safety courses or just ride around with your permit, you can easily kill yourself,” said Grinnell.
“You can’t expect people to always be paying attention to you,” he said, though he feels that car drivers should be vigilant and aware of motorcyclists on the road.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course in Massachusetts offers a variety of training courses, from beginner riders to competitive racers, a program many called invaluable.
“I ended up learning a lot that helps me day to day when riding,” said Colby Myrbeck, a Stonehill College senior, “unexpected things that you wouldn’t normally sit and practice.”
Grinnell agreed. “They teach you all kinds of stuff, like how to ride in the rain and lookout for idiots on the road,” he said, “and if you pass that then you get your license.”
While taking safety courses is important, the riders said that using the right gear is the best thing someone can do to protect themselves.
“Some people just ride around in their vans and jeans, regular clothes like that,” said Grinnell, “and they’re not thinking about their safety.”
He said he’s invested in proper gear, such as Kevlar jeans and riding boots, but it’s expensive. He feels that despite the price tag, proper gear is worth getting.
“If you don’t pay those costs upfront to get good gear,” he said, “you could end up paying the ultimate cost, you know, losing your life.”
George had an incident where he was hit on a one-lane back road in Brockton.
“Lost my bike but not my life, which I am grateful for,” he said, “had I not been wearing a full-face helmet, I might have disfigured my face permanently.”
Myrbeck has also been in a crash. He hit a deer while driving on the highway at night.
“It was a huge wakeup call for me,” he said, “not to stop riding but to take a step back and realize, you know, I’m not the only thing contributing to my safety.”
At the time of his crash, the only gear he was wearing was a helmet and gloves. Now, he wears full coverage race boots, a Kevlar jacket, and tear-resistant pants.
Grinnell, who was with Myrbeck at the time of his crash, recalled being shaken up by witnessing it.
“The next week I didn’t ride at all,” he said, “it really shook me. It was a freak thing.”
If riders don’t wear the proper gear, even a small crash can be life-threatening.
Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle crash, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“It’s so easy to get injured on a motorcycle,” said Grinnell, “cause there’s nothing protecting you from the outside world at all.”
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration offers tips on how to ride safely and responsibly, including being properly licensed, practicing driving your bike before taking passengers, and checking the mechanics of your bike before every ride.
Easton Police Sgt. Brian Humenuk said that some of the worst crashes he’s seen have involved motorcycles.
“I’d say I’ve seen somewhere between 30 to 50 motorcycle crashes,” said Humenuk, “and that’s an array of, you know, no real damage all the way to a fatality.”
He said that crashes are caused by many different things, but the biggest one which concerns him is high speed.
“It’s almost rare for me nowadays to see a motorcycle rider just riding,” he said, “it’s this extreme sport we have now.”
He said that he sees riders going over 100 miles per hour on the highway regularly, in dangerous conditions. “And we have it here in town too,” he said referring to Easton, “so it’s everywhere.”
Humenuk recalls the protective gear that motorcyclists involved in crashes wore to protect themselves from serious injuries.
“Leather jackets, to prevent the scraping,” he said, “and helmets, gosh, helmets are huge.”
He said that when he visits states with no helmet laws, he is shocked at the speeds people ride their bikes without a helmet.
“It just makes me question where the states care is in people,” he said, “I mean, sometimes you have to create and enforce laws just to make sure people are doing things to save their lives.”
Helmet use, said Humenuk, is a “no brainer.”
Despite the risks, motorcyclists said riding a bike is a freeing hobby and one that is unlike anything else.
“When I ride, I’m not thinking about the next exam or job interview,” said George, “it’s just me, the road, and my bike.”
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