E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Saturday, May 1, 2004
Dragway Event Kick-Starts Motorcycle Safety Month
M IS FOR MAY, MOTORCYCLE, MORTUARY: It's May.
It's Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.
And that's a good thing, considering 34 motorcyclists died on N.M. roads last year. Six have died in the first three months of 2004— and three of those weren't wearing helmets.
So to make car and truck drivers more aware of motorcyclists, to get folks to drive sober and to push motorcycle training, the state Department of Transportation's Traffic Safety Bureau and the University of New Mexico Institute of Public Law are putting on a shindig today at the Albuquerque National Dragway.
According to a news release from the bureau, the event kicks off at noon with a proclamation from the governor and runs to 4 p.m.
And it's free.
Folks from the Traffic Safety Bureau, the Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation will join a crash survivor and a Montgomery Boulevard street-racer-turned-drag-strip-racer.
Their common goal is safety. In New Mexico there are 83,291 licensed motorcyclists, 100,715 registered motorcycles, "and they are all at risk," the release says— from drivers who don't see motorcyclists and turn across their paths, to any driver who's liquored up, to motorcyclists who hop on a powerful bike without any training.
The Air Force lost 24 airmen to motorcycle crashes in 2003, the release says, so it's started a program to provide motorcyclists with the skills and support they need to ride safely.
Today's event is a start for the rest of us.
The Motor Vehicle Division will have road tests to get your motorcycle license, State Police will have its rollover simulator there as well as the child identification program, and there'll be an ignition-interlock demonstration, giveaways, and fun stuff for the kiddies.
Plus six-time national extreme trials champion Geoff Aaron will do three shows.
To get to the dragway, take I-25 south to Rio Bravo, go west to Broadway, go south to Bobby Foster, go east to the T, turn left and follow the signs.
LOST IN AN I-40 POTHOLE: Michael asks in an e-mail "what's up with the terrible condition of Interstate 40 from the Big I to Tramway? Eastbound or westbound, the road is full of potholes, especially the middle lane(s). I think they patched holes once, but it is in dire need to be patched again. The state of the highway is expensive to motorists and extremely dangerous to boot."
Tony Abbo, state Department of Transportation District 3 traffic engineer, says the Department of Transportation is on it.
"The department is fully aware of the potholes on I-40 from the Big I to Tramway. Our maintenance crews are working hard and around the clock trying to keep up with the required repairs. The ultimate fix for the matter is that I-40 needs to be reconstructed. The department is currently preparing several construction projects that will address the pavement condition."
An I-40 primer: Abbo says eastbound I-40 from Juan Tabo to Tramway was completed in the late '90s and Wyoming to Juan Tabo was done in '02.
As for westbound, Tramway to Wyoming is scheduled to be advertised for construction by March '05, he says.
And "there are other projects along I-40 that are planned in both directions but have not been scheduled," Abbo says. "We need to complete the bridge construction for the I-40 Pennsylvania overpass (planned for late 2004), Washington overpass and the San Mateo interchange. The bridge structures need to be lengthened to provide the room that is needed for the proposed widening along I-40. 'Til that happens, the reconstruction of mainline I-40 will be on hold."
D'Val Westphal, the Journal's news editor, tackles commuter issues for West Siders on Tuesdays and the rest of the Metro area on Saturdays. Reach her at 823-3858 (phone), 823-3994 (fax), road@abqjournal.com (e-mail) or P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103. For all Road Warrior all the time, check out previous columns at abqjournal.com/traffic.