Every driver learns about school buses, railroad crossings, and sharing the road with bicycles. It’s time we do the same for motorcycles.

Every year, motorcyclists are seriously injured or killed in crashes that could have been prevented if other drivers better understood how motorcycles operate and how to safely interact with them in traffic. Research has consistently shown that in many multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes, the other driver violates the motorcyclist’s right-of-way or simply fails to detect the motorcycle.  

Motorcycles are smaller, accelerate differently than cars, and are often harder to spot in traffic. Yet most driver’s education programs spend little time teaching motorists how to safely share the road with riders.

This is a gap we can fix.

I am calling on state licensing agencies, lawmakers, and traffic safety organizations to require a brief motorcycle awareness course as part of the driver’s licensing process.

This course could be completed online in less than an hour and would teach drivers:

Why motorcycles often appear farther away than they really are
How to properly check for motorcycles before turning left
Common motorcycle blind spot scenarios
How weather and road hazards affect riders differently than drivers
Safe following distances around motorcycles
What drivers should do when approaching riders at intersections
How to recognize and avoid the most common motorcycle crash situations
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation already provides educational resources designed to improve motorcycle awareness and promote safer interactions between motorists and riders.  

This proposal would not require every driver to become a motorcyclist.

It would simply require every driver to understand how to safely share the road with one.

A short educational module could save lives, reduce crashes, lower insurance costs, and create safer roads for everyone.

Motorcyclists are parents, spouses, children, friends, coworkers, veterans, first responders, and neighbors. They deserve drivers who know how to see them.

If you believe every driver should receive motorcycle awareness training before receiving a driver’s license, please sign and share this petition.

Because “I didn’t see the motorcycle” should never be the reason someone doesn’t make it home.