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National Roadway Safety Strategy Announced

By General Posts

Thursday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced a new national road safety campaign. The plan, known as the “National Roadway Safety Strategy,” comes in response to increased year over year fatalities on our nation’s roadways. In 2020, an estimated 38,680 people died as a result of a motor vehicle crash. Of those, approximately 9% were motorcyclists’ fatalities.

What is most alarming about the increase in fatalities, is that the total number of miles traveled on our roads decreased during the pandemic. Americans traveled 13.2% less miles in 2020 than we did in 2019, but we saw a 7.2% increase in deaths.

The preliminary numbers for the first 6 months of 2021 are also troublesome. From January through the end of June 2021 an estimated 20,160 people died in crashes. That is the largest number of projected deaths in that time frame since 2006.

To combat this trend the plan outlines five key objectives:

  • Safer People: Encourage safe, responsible behavior by people who use our roads and create conditions that prioritize their ability to reach their destination unharmed.
  • Safer Roads: Design roadway environments to mitigate human mistakes and account for injury tolerances, to encourage safer behaviors, and to facilitate safe travel by the most users.
  • Safer Vehicles: Expand the availability of vehicle systems and features that help to prevent crashes and minimize the impact of crashes on both occupants and non-occupants.
  • Safer Speeds: Promote safer speeds in all roadway environments through a combination of thoughtful, context-appropriate roadway design, targeted education, and outreach campaigns, and enforcement.
  • Post-Crash Care: Enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency medical care, while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust traffic incident management practices.

The recently passed infrastructure bill has components and funding to help achieve some of these goals. For example, $14 billion in new funding was specifically allocated for road safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also announced plans this week to increase the data it collects on crashes. The agency wants to boost the number of crashes investigated and add additional studies that examine crashes involving medium-duty trucks, pedestrians, and workers who are hit on the road.

We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation are encouraged to see that the U.S. Department of Transportation is taking a complete view of traffic safety, incorporating multiple factors to make our roadways safer. We also remain committed to the theory of crash avoidance, as a crash that doesn’t happen is always safer than one that does.

To get more detail and read the 41 page report click here.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders.
See website at: http://mrf.org/

Wreaths Across America

By General Posts

A Chance To Remember, Honor and Teach

As of today, there are only 3,598 sponsored wreaths, with 30,402 graves that will not receive a wreath.

For me and a few friends/veterans, it’s become an annual tradition…and is involving more and more people every year.

The communities all come together – Veterans, Bikers, Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scouts, Young, Old, Widows/widowers, children, grandchildren and even some canines – to participate and honor.

READ THIS PHOTO FEATURE ARTICLE ON BIKERNET – CLICK HERE

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Polaris Off Road and Diesel Brothers Support America’s First Responders

By General Posts

Polaris Off Road and Diesel Brothers Support America’s First Responders Through United We Ride Custom-Vehicle Program

Polaris Off Road, the world leader in powersports and off-road innovation, today announced United We Ride – a partnership and fundraising effort with the Diesel Brothers that honors our nation’s military, police and fire departments. The program is highlighted by a Diesel Brothers’ customized series of recently launched Polaris machines. Each machine has been custom-made to honor a specific branch of American “first responders” – the RZR PRO XP Ultimate for policemen and policewomen, the RANGER CREW XP 1000 for firemen and firewomen, and the GENERAL XP 4 1000 for members of the U.S. military.

Polaris United We Ride custom U.S. military, law enforcement and first responder machines. (Photo: Business Wire)

The program is powered by a national voting process where consumers vote for their favorite build, and voting totals determine the donation amount from Polaris to each of the program’s three charity beneficiaries – $25,000 to first place, $15,000 to second and $10,000 to third place. By casting their vote, consumers are automatically entered for the chance to win an all-new RANGER CREW XP 1000 with Ride Command, RZR PRO XP Ultimate or a GENERAL XP 4 1000 DELUXE.

“We are forever grateful for the commitment and sacrifice made by members of our military and first responders, and we are proud to continue our 15-year tradition of providing vehicles for their duties and their well-deserved free time,” said Kyle Duea, vice president of Off-Road Vehicle Marketing, Polaris. “Partnering with the Diesel Brothers to customize our machines and drive awareness of these charities is merely one way we can show our appreciation, while honoring their daily efforts to protect us, our communities and our freedom.”

The United We Ride program will be donating to the following charities:

  • Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) – Provides resources to support the families and co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty as they cope with the tragic loss and work to rebuild their lives.
  • The Gary Sinise First RespondersFoundation – Provides critical funding for emergency relief, training, and essential equipment to ensure our heroic firefighters have the resources they need.
  • Your Grateful Nation – Provides support, guidance and resources to transition special operations veterans into their next successful career.

“The whole Diesel Brothers’ family has a deep respect for those who selflessly protect, serve and care for this great country,” said Dave Sparks, Diesel Sellerz. “That’s why we jumped at the opportunity to work with our most valued industry partners at Polaris to build the unique UTVs intended to honor the hard-working men and women of the U.S. military, law enforcement, and first responders. This is just a small token of our gratitude for their hard work and dedicated service.”

Customers are encouraged to vote for United We Ride at Polaris.com/UnitedWeRide until December 22. For the last 15 years, Polaris’ Commercial, Government and Defense team has proudly partnered with military and public safety organizations across the country to design and upfit Polaris vehicles for professional use. More information on Polaris’ military vehicles, turn-key law enforcement and fire-fighting vehicles, and grant assistance programs can be found on Polaris.com/Gov.

To find more information about Polaris Off-Road Vehicles and Polaris Engineered Accessories, visit Polaris.com/OffRoad.