Press Release | May 5, 2022
Irvine, CA (May 3, 2022) — President Biden recognized May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in a letter from the White House that acknowledged the millions of Americans who ride, and that “A motorcycle offers freedom, recreation, and the opportunity to explore our great Nation coast-to-coast.”
This is a press release from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation…
“My Administration remains committed to ensuring the safety of everyone who rides a motorcycle and all who travel across our Nation,” Biden wrote in the letter dated May 1, underscoring the importance of personal protective gear for motorcyclists, obeying traffic laws, riding alcohol- and drug-free, and for motorists to drive safely, be aware of motorcyclists, and to share the road. “All of us who travel America’s roads have an important role in securing a safe motorcycle-riding environment.”
“We thank President Biden, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and the Department of Transportation for helping to raise awareness of motorcyclists and motorcycle safety,” said Erik Pritchard, president and CEO of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. “On behalf of motorcyclists across the country, we are grateful for the funding contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to modernize the highways, roads, and bridges.”
More riders are anticipated to be on the roads this year. Sales of motorcycles and scooters rose 14.2% in 2021, the second consecutive year of growth, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council Retail Sales Reporting System, which gathers new motorcycle and scooter retail sales data from 14 leading manufacturers and distributors in the U.S.
“The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has worked closely with the Department of Transportation and the Biden administration to bring issues facing motorcyclists to the forefront,” said Scott Schloegel, senior vice president of government relations for MSF. “This administration has placed a priority on reducing highway deaths and on educating the motoring public, and we appreciate that this presidential recognition is one of many ways they are working to accomplish that goal.”
More tips for riders and drivers are available at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s websites: msf-usa.org and forcardrivers.com. Users can also test their perception and knowledge with timed challenges and quizzes. (https://www.msf-usa.org/RiderPerception.aspx)
Presidential Support for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month
This is a press release from the Motorcycle Industry Council…
A year in the making, the White House and President Biden have officially recognized Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, noting that millions of Americans enjoy motorcycling as transportation and a way of life, and that all motorists have a role in making the nation’s roadways safer for riders.
“The MIC and Motorcycle Safety Foundation have been working to raise the profile of our industry at all levels of government,” said Scott Schloegel, senior vice president at the Government Relations Office for both associations. “This presidential recognition began with your GRO’s outreach to the White House in April 2021 and is a direct result of those efforts and a meeting earlier this year with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. We thank the secretary for his tremendous support. The Biden administration has placed a priority on reducing highway deaths and on educating the motoring public, and this is just one of many ways they are trying to accomplish that goal.”
Late last year, the MIC and the MSF worked with the American Motorcyclist Association on a letter requesting White House recognition for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, highlighting the annual public awareness campaigns by all three organizations and the Department of Transportation.
“But recognition of Motorcycle Awareness Month by the White House would significantly amplify our collective efforts,” the letter stated. “As spring emerges and motorcyclists re-enter roads across the country that are being improved, it would be the perfect time to remind motorcyclists, automobile drivers, and truckers to be even more aware of motorcycle safety.”