Motorcycle Deaths up 50%!!??

In today's Minneapolis Star Tribune there was an article reporting that since this past Saturday four more motorcyclists have died in crashes on Minnesota roads, which increases the fatality total so far this year to 24, which is a 50% increase over this same time a year ago. That's 24 people dead in probably the last 2 1/2 months!

Of those 24 killed so far this year, over half were in their 40s or older.

11 of the fatal crashes occurred while motorcyclists were negotiating a curve.

14 of those killed were not wearing helmets. The latest death was Guy Donnelly, age 54, of North Branch. That death occurred on Tuesday at about 6:30 PM. Mr. Donnelly was not wearing a helmet.

Another fatality occurred on Sunday in southeastern Minnesota when a motorcyclist was attempting to pass a pickup truck on Highway 61 and instead hit the truck which was making a turn. The report isn't clear but more than likely the driver of the truck didn't realize that the motorcycle was passing on his left and made a left-hand turn into the path of the motorcycle. Another death occurred at about 2 PM on Sunday in Sherburne County when a pickup truck making a turn on Highway 10 struck the motorcyclist and killed him. These last two incidents can probably be at least partly blamed on drivers not being aware of motorcyclists. Here in Minnesota we go through about six months when there are no motorcycles on the road at all, and unfortunately for the motorcycle operators it takes drivers some time to remember that now there may be motorcycles on the road.