Florence resident Kevin Adams said he loves his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, but hates how some motorists treat him while he’s riding it.
He said he’s been struck at least twice by inattentive drivers and has narrowly avoided several more collisions during the 37 years he’s been riding.
“I have a wife and two children, and we all ride. We’ve come close to being run off the road three times in the matter of a month,” Adams said.
That’s why Adams and other members of A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments, or A.B.A.T.E, have started a campaign to encourage motorists to be more vigilant of motorcyclists on roadways.
A.B.A.T.E. is a motorcyclists rights organization dedicated to preserving individual liberties and bikers’ rights.
Many crashes involving motorcycles and vehicles are caused by a driver talking on his or her cell phone, Adams said.
“They aren’t looking. They are just meandering along, and, next thing you know, they’re in your lane — they’re on you and there’s no where to go,” he said.
“You either go into oncoming traffic, go in the ditch or the median and try to avoid getting killed. People just don’t know, they don’t care.”
The hand that holds the cell phone often is in the motorist’s peripheral vision, and they don’t see a motorcycle traveling near them, he said.
Motorcycles take up a quarter of the space that a car does in a lane and that sometimes makes them hard to see, Adams said.
Adams Outdoor Advertising has donated the use of two of its Florence billboards to helping the Pee Dee chapter of A.B.A.T.E get the message out, he said.
The billboards depict a wrecked motorcycle and the phrase, “Look Twice, Save a Life. Motorcycles are everywhere.”
The group is asking motorists to check their mirrors before they make a turn or change lanes to avoid a crash.
Motorists also are urged not to follow a motorcycle too closely on a roadway.
“I’ve been the victim of a rear-ender,” he said. “She knocked the motorcycle right from under me, and I landed on her hood.”
Adams, who teaches others how to ride motorcycles in his spare time, said riders can take a proactive approach to roadway safety.
Motorcyclists should turn on their high-beam headlamps during the day to help other riders and drivers see them, he said.
He said he also tells his students to stay out of the blind spots of cars and trucks.
“I tell them to respect the road because the road hurts,” he said. “Bikes can be replaced, but skin takes time.”
For more details about A.B.A.T.E., visit www.peedeeabate.org.
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