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Police working to increase motorcycle awareness
  
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By MIKE LARA
The Deer Park Police Department, Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol along with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers are forming a coalition in efforts to combat the growing rise of alcohol related motorcycle crashes which is surpassing national levels at an alarming rate.
Captain Sharon Massey mentioned alarming facts on Tuesday morning regarding the rise in motorcycle crashes and urged the community to join in the coalition’s efforts to increase public awareness and involvement in reversing these trends.
“About a month ago after our third motorcycle fatality, (acting)Chief Ken Findley sat down with our traffic Sgt. John White and told him that we needed to do something to try and decrease the number of motorcycle accidents in Deer Park. Sgt. White did research, made phone calls and confirmed what we had suspected all along,” Massey said, “that motorcycle accidents and fatalities are not just a concern within the boundaries of the city of Deer Park, but they are a big problem for all communities and it will require a multifaceted approach to try and reduce the numbers.” His efforts have snowballed and he is to be commended for the coalition that he has created. We are happy to welcome partners from area law enforcement agencies, the district attorney’s office, anti-drug/anti-alcohol organizations, and the media in an effort to draw attention to the need for increased motorcycle safety because we can’t do it by ourselves.”
The coalition is called Operation PACT (Partnership Against Cycle Tragedies) and it is a direct result of the alarming statistics.
For example, statistics from 2007 for Southeast Harris County revealed a 100 percent rise in evidence of drug and alcohol usage in motorcycle crash deaths which is significantly higher than the rates of Texas and the country. In 1998 motorcycle fatalities comprised of just four percent of all traffic fatalities in the state of Texas; today the percentage has risen to nearly 12 percent. Not to mention, if you are a long time rider and ride your motorcycle on a near everyday basis, you are 35 times more prone to being killed in a motorcycle crash which confirms that riding a motorcycle requires extreme caution to safety as it is an inherently dangerous activity.
Also, given the extremely unpredictable gas prices these days, their have been an increase of 94 percent in Texas for motorcycle purchases and registrations. In essence, the figures are more likely to go up unless the entire community joins in with the efforts of PACT for the safety of everyone’s lives as Assistant District Attorney of the Vehicular Crimes Section of the Harris County District Attorney’s office Brent Mayr said, “We are working with all law enforcement agencies including the Deer Park Police Department, HPD, sheriff’s office and Precinct 8.” said Mayr, “but we really want to focus on it here because there have been three fatalities this past year in this area alone which are just too many to sustain.”
Sgt. John White, who is one of the first responders to accidents in the Deer Park area, has seen his share of tragedy resulting from motorcycle accidents and his whole hearted efforts behind Operation PACT were quite visible.
“About a month ago, my lieutenant and I were awaken in the middle of the night with another motorcycle crash that turned into a fatality,” he said. “Still having the other two fresh on our mind we searched within our department and analyzed the three motorcycle fatalities along with the 15 motorcycle accidents total. Three of the 15 involved in accidents sustained major incapacitating injuries that very well could have ended in death. Some of them were very, very lucky.”
Considering the facts as well as the alarming rate of arrests for driving while intoxicated, Sgt. White and his staff sought to reach out for assistance in combating the alarming increase of alcohol related motorcycle accidents as well as raise awareness to the public.
White also took into consideration the holiday season along with one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the country coming. “The Lone Star Bike Rally is one of the largest bike rallies in the United States and we are on the heals of a whole lot of bike enthusiast making their way through our community to get to Galveston via Highway 146, Highway 225, as well using our roads to cut through to avoid heavy traffic,” said White. “So we decided we needed to do something pretty fast to raise the awareness.”
White’s words strongly emphasized an approach at the grass-roots level as he and his staff sought out to gain new ideas, fresh approaches and assistance from all avenues.
“We are trying to share information with our local brothers and sisters in law enforcement to involve them in our efforts; because it doesn’t just affect Deer Park, it’s affecting the whole county and the communities; with our overall goal being to reduce motorcycle fatalities and severe injuries,” he said. “We are going to accomplish this by adhering to principles and practices that change the culture and behavior of motorcyclists and the general public; this will be done through engineering, education, and enforcement.”
“In closing, I’d like to state that let’s have something to celebrate at the end of this holiday season by not having anymore motorcycle fatalities or vehicle fatalities for the rest of the year,” White said.
In 2007, 5,154 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in the United States, 60 percent of the riders were not wearing helmets; of the 5,154 killed in the U.S, 375 of them were from Texas. Looking at the state of Texas; in all crashes involving motorcycles 36 percent of the time the motorcycle operator was legally intoxicated. Nearly 105,000 injuries were sustained in the U.S. last year; with 5,307 in Texas. Some people involved in these serious accidents are forced to live with physical and mental injuries for the rest of their lives with still others being so badly injured that they are unable to take care of themselves. If you are planning to ride a motorcycle for the first time, take the course; get knowledgeable about what you are participating in; as nearly 35 percent of all motorcycle operators in the United States don’t have the proper license.
Captain Sharon Massey mentioned alarming facts on Tuesday morning regarding the rise in motorcycle crashes and urged the community to join in the coalition’s efforts to increase public awareness and involvement in reversing these trends.
“About a month ago after our third motorcycle fatality, (acting)Chief Ken Findley sat down with our traffic Sgt. John White and told him that we needed to do something to try and decrease the number of motorcycle accidents in Deer Park. Sgt. White did research, made phone calls and confirmed what we had suspected all along,” Massey said, “that motorcycle accidents and fatalities are not just a concern within the boundaries of the city of Deer Park, but they are a big problem for all communities and it will require a multifaceted approach to try and reduce the numbers.” His efforts have snowballed and he is to be commended for the coalition that he has created. We are happy to welcome partners from area law enforcement agencies, the district attorney’s office, anti-drug/anti-alcohol organizations, and the media in an effort to draw attention to the need for increased motorcycle safety because we can’t do it by ourselves.”
The coalition is called Operation PACT (Partnership Against Cycle Tragedies) and it is a direct result of the alarming statistics.
For example, statistics from 2007 for Southeast Harris County revealed a 100 percent rise in evidence of drug and alcohol usage in motorcycle crash deaths which is significantly higher than the rates of Texas and the country. In 1998 motorcycle fatalities comprised of just four percent of all traffic fatalities in the state of Texas; today the percentage has risen to nearly 12 percent. Not to mention, if you are a long time rider and ride your motorcycle on a near everyday basis, you are 35 times more prone to being killed in a motorcycle crash which confirms that riding a motorcycle requires extreme caution to safety as it is an inherently dangerous activity.
Also, given the extremely unpredictable gas prices these days, their have been an increase of 94 percent in Texas for motorcycle purchases and registrations. In essence, the figures are more likely to go up unless the entire community joins in with the efforts of PACT for the safety of everyone’s lives as Assistant District Attorney of the Vehicular Crimes Section of the Harris County District Attorney’s office Brent Mayr said, “We are working with all law enforcement agencies including the Deer Park Police Department, HPD, sheriff’s office and Precinct 8.” said Mayr, “but we really want to focus on it here because there have been three fatalities this past year in this area alone which are just too many to sustain.”
Sgt. John White, who is one of the first responders to accidents in the Deer Park area, has seen his share of tragedy resulting from motorcycle accidents and his whole hearted efforts behind Operation PACT were quite visible.
“About a month ago, my lieutenant and I were awaken in the middle of the night with another motorcycle crash that turned into a fatality,” he said. “Still having the other two fresh on our mind we searched within our department and analyzed the three motorcycle fatalities along with the 15 motorcycle accidents total. Three of the 15 involved in accidents sustained major incapacitating injuries that very well could have ended in death. Some of them were very, very lucky.”
Considering the facts as well as the alarming rate of arrests for driving while intoxicated, Sgt. White and his staff sought to reach out for assistance in combating the alarming increase of alcohol related motorcycle accidents as well as raise awareness to the public.
White also took into consideration the holiday season along with one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the country coming. “The Lone Star Bike Rally is one of the largest bike rallies in the United States and we are on the heals of a whole lot of bike enthusiast making their way through our community to get to Galveston via Highway 146, Highway 225, as well using our roads to cut through to avoid heavy traffic,” said White. “So we decided we needed to do something pretty fast to raise the awareness.”
White’s words strongly emphasized an approach at the grass-roots level as he and his staff sought out to gain new ideas, fresh approaches and assistance from all avenues.
“We are trying to share information with our local brothers and sisters in law enforcement to involve them in our efforts; because it doesn’t just affect Deer Park, it’s affecting the whole county and the communities; with our overall goal being to reduce motorcycle fatalities and severe injuries,” he said. “We are going to accomplish this by adhering to principles and practices that change the culture and behavior of motorcyclists and the general public; this will be done through engineering, education, and enforcement.”
“In closing, I’d like to state that let’s have something to celebrate at the end of this holiday season by not having anymore motorcycle fatalities or vehicle fatalities for the rest of the year,” White said.
In 2007, 5,154 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in the United States, 60 percent of the riders were not wearing helmets; of the 5,154 killed in the U.S, 375 of them were from Texas. Looking at the state of Texas; in all crashes involving motorcycles 36 percent of the time the motorcycle operator was legally intoxicated. Nearly 105,000 injuries were sustained in the U.S. last year; with 5,307 in Texas. Some people involved in these serious accidents are forced to live with physical and mental injuries for the rest of their lives with still others being so badly injured that they are unable to take care of themselves. If you are planning to ride a motorcycle for the first time, take the course; get knowledgeable about what you are participating in; as nearly 35 percent of all motorcycle operators in the United States don’t have the proper license.
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