The Texas Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs started a program eight years ago, urging all motorcyclists to ask that city officials throughout the state issue a proclamation to recognize May as Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month, according to the Alvin Sun.

They started out with seven city proclamations in 2003 and now have nearly 200 cities and more than 10 counties participating. Texas Governor Rick Perry also issued a proclamation in 2010 to help reduce the risks of a motorcycle accident in Dallas and elsewhere in the state.

Our Dallas injury lawyers urge motorcyclists to join the efforts of this year’s safety awareness month; attend council meetings and other awareness events to help keep our roadways safer and accident free.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TexDOT), the number of registered motorcycles in Texas more than doubled over the last ten years from more than 180,000 in 2000 to more than 424,000 in 2010.

In 2010, More than 37,000 beginner and advanced students went through the Texas Motorcycle Operator Training Program courses. A 5 to 20 percent discount was offered by most motorcycle insurance companies for completing the safety course, according to Hill Country Times.

The main message of this year’s Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month asks that motorists take a second look before pulling out into traffic, changing lanes or crossing through intersections. Nearly every day there are reports of accidents and fatalities involving a motorcyclist.

Motorcycle events will be held statewide throughout the month, like the one that was held last week at Texas State Technical College (TSTC), according to the Valley Morning Star.

“With gas prices going up, we’ve heard from dealerships that they’ve seen an increase in motorcycle sales,” said Angie Gonzalez, TSTC’s continuing education director .

Because motorcycles are much smaller than other vehicles, drivers may have a difficult time judging the distance and speed of an approaching motorcycle. This is why drivers involved in crashes with motorcycles often claim that they never saw the motorcyclist and is why they were unable to react in time to prevent the accident, according to TexDOT.

The Texas’ “Share The Road” campaign asks all motorists to look twice for motorcyclists — because seeing them is saving them:

-Look twice, especially at intersections, entering traffic or when changing lanes. Clearly signal your intentions to alert motorcyclists of you movement.

-Have respect. Remember that a motorcycle has the exact same rules, privileges and regulations as every other motorist.

-Give them space. Don’t tailgate as their riding patterns are not always steady. Riders often swerve and veer within traffic lanes to avid road debris and to steer clear of strong traffic winds.

-Be cautious of their reactions in varying weather conditions. Motorcycles take a much longer distance to stop on wet pavement.

-Keep out of their lane when riding next to them as well. They deserve a full lane just as you do.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a motorcycle accident, contact Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer Mike Goolsby of The Goolsby Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. Call (972) 492-8758.

A new survey released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that most Americans would prefer that government officials take more action in improving highway safety to decrease risks of a car accident in Dallas and elsewhere. The survey appears just in time for the global kickoff of the ‘Decade of Action on Road Safety’, put on by the United Nations.

Dallas injury attorneys would like to remind motorists to practice safe driving habits at all times. Everyone is asked to join the global campaign as it aims to reduce the number of highway deaths and injuries worldwide.

“Despite shrinking federal and state transportation budgets and a public debate over the most appropriate role of government, it’s clear that a majority of Americans want government officials to do more – not less – about highway safety,” said AAA President and CEO Bob Darbelnet. “From passing and enforcing laws about teen drivers and distracted driving to programs that improve the safety of our roadways and add safety equipment to vehicles, there are many steps government can take reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths in the U.S.”

The campaign, more specifically, aims to stabilize and reduce global road deaths by 2020. Numerous major economies of the G20, the United States, public institutions and other developing countries, endorse the Decade of Action.

“At a time when more and more U.S. highway safety agencies are adopting “Toward Zero Death” goals, it is very heartening to see motorist support for more, not less action by government to make our roads safer,” added J. Peter Kissinger, President of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, that commissioned this survey.

Decade of Action campaign tools can be found on their website to help you spread the word and to help get your loved ones and community involved in the cause.

Roughly 1.3 million people are killed, and approximately 50 million are injured, on roads worldwide each year. Many of those injured remain disabled for the rest of their life. Approximately 90 percent of casualties from roadway deaths happen in developing countries. Yearly road accident deaths are expected to reach nearly 2 million people by 2020.

In 2008, there were nearly 50,500 motor vehicles involved in fatal accidents in the United States. More than 25,000 passenger vehicle occupants died in these traffic crashes, and an estimated 2.35 million were injured. Texas experienced nearly 2,500 traffic accident fatalities the same year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Goolsby Law Firm is dedicated and motivated to fighting for victims and their families who have suffered in Dallas, Carrollton or the surrounding areas. If you or a loved one has been injured in car accident, call for a free and confidential consultation at (972) 492-8758.

A passenger was fortunate enough to survive a Dallas car accident after a rollover SUV crash blamed on a driver using his cell phone, according to My Fox DFW.

Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputies report that the driver had just left the bar with his buddy and that alcohol may have also played a role in the single-car wreck.

Our Dallas car accident attorneys urge drivers to focus on the road when operating a motor vehicle and to avoid distractions at all cost as they can cause serious injury to you, your passengers and other motorists. With a recent wave of technology, driving while engaging in distracted behavior has become all too common.

The accident happened at roughly 2:30 a.m. as the driver was leaving Highway 67 to head eastbound on I-20. He was reportedly on his phone when he lost control of his vehicle, stuck a tree and flipped his SUV. The vehicle reportedly landed face-down in a body of water.

Luckily a passing motorcyclist stopped to assist the victims. He pulled them out of the vehicle and called for help. The motorcyclist says that the driver was drowning.

Emergency responders rushed both of the occupants to the hospital, where the driver was later pronounced dead. The passenger has been treated and released from the hospital.

In the wake of an increased rate of distracted driving accidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation is leading the effort to help Americans put down the distractions while behind the wheel. The government is working with a number of public and private entities to raise awareness and to tackle the dangerous habit.

Distracted driving is more prominent than you may think. A recent survey conducted by Distraction.gov found:

-Nearly 5,500 people were killed in 2009 in the United States because of motor-vehicle accidents that reported to have involved distracted driving. An additional 448,000 were injured in the same types of accidents.

-Approximately 20 percent of all crashes resulting in injury reported distracted driving in 2009.

-Drivers using a hand-held device behind the wheel are four times more likely to be involved in an accident serious enough to cause injury.

-Of the fatal distracted-driving-related accidents, nearly 1,000 of them reported the use of a cell phone as the distraction.

-Young drivers under the age of 20 are the ones most likely to be involved in distracted driving accident. Nearly 20 percent of these young drivers have been involved in one of these accidents.

-The use of a cell phone behind the wheel gives a driver the same reaction time as one who is legally drunk (with the blood alcohol concentration of .08).

Distracted driving involves any non-driving activity that a person engages in that can have the ability to take their attention off of the road and increase their risks of being involved in an accident.

The Goolsby Law Firm is dedicated and motivated to fighting for victims and their families who have suffered in Dallas, Carrollton or the surrounding areas. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a distracted driver or any other car-related accident, call for a free consultation at 1-972-394-2141.