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Police concerned about two-wheeled traffic
Herndon resident Scott Norman, a husband and father of two young children, was one of the three motorcycle fatalities in Fairfax County this year.
On July 29, Norman lost control of his 2008 Suzuki while on Herndon Parkway, slammed into a barrier and was killed instantly. The police report estimated that he had been traveling at 77 miles per hour, more than twice the posted speed limit.
Although annual Fairfax County motorcycle fatalities have remained in the single digits in recent years, police are concerned with the potential safety issues that may come with more two-wheeled vehicles on roadways being driven by inexperienced drivers.
Last month, Ryan Andrew, a 26-year-old Centreville resident, lost control of his 2001 Honda striking a curb on Fairview Park Drive in McLean. He was thrown from the motorcycle, hit a tree and was killed.
Six months earlier, 44-year-old Lorton resident Larry Schuler was making a right turn from Clay Spur Court onto Sunset Ridge Road in Centreville when he struck a parked car and died from his injuries.
"We are seeing a surge in people, some more experienced than others, commuting by moped, scooters and motorcycles, which can create safety concerns when mixing with other vehicles," said Fairfax Traffic Safety Specialist Master Police Officer Bob Barton.
Fairfax Police have published an educational brochure for riders that can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
Currently, there are more than 178,000 motorcycles in Virginia, 15,000 of them registered in Fairfax County.
This does not include the untold number of unregistered mopeds, motorized scooters, motorized bikes, electric powered bicycles and mini-bikes that also -- and sometimes illegally -- share the roadways.
A new state law that took effect July 1 states that if a moped is driven over 35 miles per hour, it is automatically considered a "motorcycle" and subject to proper registration, insurance, licensing and additional driver's certifications.
According to Fairfax County Police, soaring fuel prices have steered an increasing number of drivers toward two-wheeled vehicles as an alternative to less fuel-efficient cars and trucks.
The results are beginning to manifest themselves in various ways across the county.
According to Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith, several Metro parking lots are adding spaces for motorcycles due to high demand.
"We recently doubled the number of motorcycle spaces at the Vienna Metro station and others," she said.
Allen Johnson, of Reston, parks his motorcycle at the Vienna Metro station on a daily basis. "It's free parking for motorcycles," he said. "That's almost incentive enough to ride a bike."
But Allen says high gas prices were also a factor in his move from a four-wheeled Toyota Solara to a two-wheeled Honda VTX 1300.
"There's no question that I'm saving money on fuel," he said. "And I'm having fun doing it."
Oak Hill residents Lisa Grambow and David Hepburn run APEX Cycle Education, a private company that teaches riders to properly ride a motorcycle. They purchased the business in February.
"We teach classes March through December," said Grambow. "The previous owners had 1,800 customers for the whole year in 2007," she said. "So far this year, we have had 2,260 customers and we expect the number to be as high as 2700 by December."
Grambow says the company is seeing a lot more interest from first-time riders who are using two-wheelers to commute back and forth from their jobs. "They just can't afford to own a car any longer," she said.
With the number of riders increasing, the potential for accidents is also likely to rise.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles' Virginia Highway Safety Office, there were 2,595 motorcycle crashes and 126 motorcycle-related fatalities statewide in 2007.
This is an 80 percent increase over 2006 figures, and a 286 percent increase over the number of motorcycle deaths reported in Virginia in 2001.
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, motorcycle rider behavior and inexperience contributed to 80 percent of the 126 motorcycle deaths on Virginia's roadways last year.
The top three reasons for the crashes were rider failure to maintain control, following too closely and exceeding the speed limit.
Alcohol is also a factor in the increasing numbers of Virginia motorcycle deaths. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, statistically, motorcyclists in Virginia are the worst in the nation when it comes to staying sober and staying alive.
“Virginia ranks dead last when it comes to alcohol-related motorcycle safety. While other states are seeing decreases in the number of alcohol-related motorcycle fatalities in 2007, Virginia deaths are roaring to new levels,” said Martha Mitchell Meade, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Virginia traffic fatalities in 2007 attributed to cyclists impaired by alcohol increased 260 percent -- from 15 to 39 deaths -- compared to 2006.
The increase of 24 motorcyclist fatalities in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in Virginia was the largest in the nation, according to Meade.
"Our hope is that this horrible trend will be sobering to riders and that the riders who come out to enjoy the beautiful fall weather will have the good sense to ride alcohol free,” she said.
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