May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month: Here’s how to sign up for a motorcycle safety course

May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and Motorcycle Ohio and the Ohio Department of Public Safety are reminding drivers to look for riders, check in blind spots, and to share the road, not the lane. Both also stress the importance of training. FILE

Credit: Ron Alvey

Credit: Ron Alvey

May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and Motorcycle Ohio and the Ohio Department of Public Safety are reminding drivers to look for riders, check in blind spots, and to share the road, not the lane. Both also stress the importance of training. FILE

May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and with warmer weather on the horizon, more motorcycle riders will be out on the roads.

Motorcycle Ohio, a division of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, wants drivers and riders to be more aware this summer.

In 2022, 209 Ohioans were killed in motorcycle-related crashes. That equates to 18% of all fatal crashes in the state. Motorcycle Ohio noted that 81% of motorcycle crashes happen between the months of May and October. 53% of those crashes happened on weekends.

Motorcycle Ohio and the Ohio Department of Public Safety are reminding drivers to look for riders, check in blind spots, and to share the road, not the lane. Both also stress the importance of training.

This year, a near-record breaking number of riders are expected to sign up for the training course. The training covers basic start up, cornering and braking skills, along with what to do in emergency situations.

While riders over 18 years old are not required to wear a helmet in Ohio, Motorcycle Ohio strongly encourages the life-saving gear. In Kentucky, riders over 21 years old are not required to wear a helmet. That age limit it 18 in Indiana.

For Ohio course signups visit https://services.dps.ohio.gov/MotorCycleOhioTraining/Student/Home.

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