The Sacramento Police Department will be conducting specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement and DUI Enforcement Operations during the month of August in an effort to lower deaths and injuries caused during collisions involving motorcycles.

Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur. Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers and riders alike that can lead to motorcycle crashes. They will be cracking down on persons riding motorcycles and drivers of other vehicles who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, making illegal turns, or any other dangerous violations that make our roadways unsafe. Officers will be deployed during morning/evening commute times and during the evening/nighttime for DUI patrols.

Motorcycle fatalities have been on the rise since 2012.  Operations like this are aimed at combating the factors that lead to collision related motorcycle deaths and injuries.  The goal is to reduce serious injuries and tragic loss of life and, eventually, to eliminate them entirely.

California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs by both riders and drivers alike. The Sacramento Police Department is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes.

Riders can get training through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. Information and training locations are available at www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety/california-motorcyclist-training or 1-877 RIDE 411 or 1-877-743-3411.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The message to all drivers and motorcyclists is: share in the responsibility and do your part by safely "sharing the road."

Please direct any inquiries to Sergeant Chris Prince via email at cprince@pd.cityofsacramento.org or by telephone at (916) 808-6069.