COCHRANE— With warmer weather rolling through Alberta many motorcycle enthusiasts are sure to be hitting the highways, heading out for summer cruises.
Being situated between Calgary and the Rocky Mountains, Cochrane is sure to see its fair share of motorcycles in town and the surrounding area.
“We see a very large amount of motorcycle traffic and that includes in Cochrane’s jurisdiction and extends into Kananaskis, which we also oversee,” said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff with the Cochrane RCMP. “Every year, unfortunately, we have victims of motorcycle collisions. Already this year we’ve had fatalities, so motorcycle safety plays a very large part for us.”
Province-wide there were 144 fatalities and another 3,066 injuries that resulted from motorcycle collisions between 2014 and 2018. In 2020 there were 18 fatalities involving motorcycles in the province.
Savinkoff noted the number one issue that he encounters regarding motorcyclists that is of concern to the RCMP is excessive speed. Following posted speed limits, especially recommended limits near turns, bends or off ramps is critical in reducing your odds of an accident.
Riding tandem is also dangerous, he said. Riding tandem is an offense under the Traffic Safety Act, but even when riders are slightly offset and not riding single file, there is often not enough space between riders to be safe.
“Even if you’re offset, slightly to the side, you should be maintaining and following at a safe distance. That way if the front cyclist does get in some trouble, you have enough time to react and avoid colliding with the person in front of you,” he said.
Savinkoff said they often see accidents that result from less experienced riders trying to keep up with a group of more experienced riders.
“Quite often when you have a group of riders, all of the riders might have different experience levels. When they ride in a group quite often, you’ll have the more experienced motorcyclist in the front,” he said. “Especially when they start getting into the winding curves west of Cochrane, the more experienced riders might drive beyond the ability of what the less experienced riders could be. We have found in the past that a lot of fatal collisions started when the inexperienced riders try to keep up to the group.”
He added that it is important to know the skill of everyone you are travelling with and to ride within the comfort limits of all involved.
The safety of motorcyclists is not solely their responsibility. Motor vehicle safety is the responsibility of all who travel on Alberta’s roads, and it is important for all drivers to stay vigilant and be patient with one another.
“They just have to be patient and understand that everyone has the right to be on the road. I find especially in today's polarizing society there’s a lot of road rage that happens and a lot of dangerous things that happen and it’s because of impatience,” he said. “Everybody can get there safely, it’s not a race.”
