May is motorcycle safety awareness month. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety is trying to reach both motorcyclists and drivers of passenger vehicles through its Ride Safe, Ride Smart campaign, in an effort to reduce motorcycle fatalities and injuries.

Motorcyle deaths have been on the rise nationwide. That trend is mirrored in Delaware. They began increasing in 2001 and hit an all time high in 2005 when 21 motorcyclists died in crashes. Though that number dropped by almost half in 2006, it rose again in 2007, when 17 cyclists were killed.

The Ride Safe. Ride Smart. initiative includes print ads reminding motorcycle riders to slow down and keep a safe following distance, billboards which encourage drivers to “Share the Road With Motorcyclists”, and bumper stickers which contain the same message.

The campaign was created in 2006, in response to the dramatic rise in deaths and fostered a new partnership between the Office of Highway Safety and the state’s Motorcycle Safety Committee, on which OHS now has a seat. The Committee also includes motorcycle riders, businesses, advocacy groups, and representatives of the DMV Motorcycle Rider Training Program. The Motorcycle Safety Committee is chaired by Senator Bruce Ennis and co-chaired by Representative Danny Short.