Motorcycle deaths on are on the rise in both Iowa and Illinois. Some riders are saying both states need to do more to keep riders safe.
Bob Pelletier has been riding motorcycles for thirty-five years. He knows all about safe riding, he’s a motorcycle safety instructor. But even in that time, he has still had a few close encounters.
"One day going through Kentucky, we had five close calls where we almost lost our lives,” says Pelletier.
Not everyone has been lucky like Pelletier. Iowa and Illinois have seen a rise in motorcyclist’s deaths. So far in 2012, Iowa has had 47 deaths compared to 2011's 35. Illinois has not released its statistics for 2012, but according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 2011 had a total 145 motorcycle deaths, which was an increase from 2010.
"Lack of training carelessness, there's more motorcycles on the road; we had a very nice spring and almost no winter,” says Pelletier.
Both would like to think those are the reasons for the accidents, but he thinks the two states can do a better job in preventing them.
"There's a lot of things we can do without legislation and if we could do some public service announcements, some advertising,” says Pelletier.
Just 3% of the American public are motorcyclists.
"You will not see what you're not looking for and 97 percent of the public are not looking for motorcyclists."
And until something is done, Pelletier has a message for that 97%.
"Look twice save a life,” says Pelletier.