EL PASO COUNTY, COLO -- As summer approaches and more and more people take to the road on motorcycles, local law enforcement and safety officials are warning riders and motorists to play it safe.
Just this past weekend, two people were killed in motorcycle-related crashes in Colorado Springs.
One rider died after his bike hit a guardrail on I-25, he was not wearing a helmet, and the second rider, a Fort Carson soldier, was killed when a car hit his bike at an intersection.
Even though the soldier was wearing a helmet, authorities said now is a good time to educate riders on the importance of safety gear, and remind motorists to share the road.
"I see a lot of people riding without a helmet, or carrying a helmet and riding," Vanessa Potchebski said.
Potchebski is in the market for her first motorcycle.
She said being an inexperienced rider, she is not taking any chances and has already taken a safety class and plans on wearing protective gear.
Safety officials said all riders, not just new ones, should play it safe.
"Helmets are kind of like a seatbelt, they increase your chance of surviving a crash, and you never know when that is going to happen," Barb Baily with Drive Smart Colorado said.
Bailey said Drive Smart Colorado also encourages riders to take classes and get cerftified.
She said in Colorado all riders are required to have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license, although she said many do not.
"In 2010 we had something like 72 motorcycle fatalities, that is drivers, and almost a third of those had no training," Bailey said.
In an effort to educate riders, Drive Smart is working with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and their "Live to Ride" campaign, but they are not alone.
The El Paso County Health Department recently received a grant from CDOT to launch their own safety campaign, which officials there said they will be launching in the coming days.
In the end though, Potchebski said every rider will make their own decision on what safety gear they want to wear.
"You want to be safe when you are riding and not get hurt because you are affecting your whole family," Potchebski said.
Colorado Springs Police are still looking for the driver of the car who hit and killed the Fort Carson soldier on his bike Friday night near the intersection of Rangewood and Randall.
If you have any information call police at 444-7000 or Crimes Stoppers at 634-STOP.
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