ACR 74: Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in California.

WHEREAS, Motorcycle riding is a popular form of efficient transportation and recreation for Californians and visitors to our Golden State. Motorcycles travel approximately 21,000,000 miles per year in the United States, riding an average of 2,500 miles each. Motorcycles provide a means of transportation that uses fewer resources, causes less wear and tear on public roadways, and increases available parking areas; and

WHEREAS, Through the Department of the California Highway Patrol’s California Motorcyclist Safety Program, the state has trained over 1,200,000 riders out of the 1,400,000 total riders licensed since the start of the program in the 1980s. Along with the assistance of the California Office of Traffic Safety, through education, and the Department of Transportation’s freeway message boards, these efforts have led to a 2.66-percent decrease in motorcycle fatalities over the last decade, while at the same time, nonmotorcycle traffic fatalities in California have increased, and nationwide motorcycle fatalities have increased by an average of 10 percent. California leads the way in training and safety for motorcyclists, and we are saving lives; and

WHEREAS, It is important that drivers of all vehicles be aware of one another, learn to share the road, and practice courtesy; and

WHEREAS, California was the first state to legalize lane splitting; and

WHEREAS, The American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) of California, which is a motorcyclists’ rights and safety organization, the American Motorcyclist Association, the Bay Area Riders Forum, the Modified Motorcycle Association of California, and the California Motorcycle Dealers Association are organizations that actively promote the safe operation of motorcycles, advocate for more rider training courses through California Highway Patrol provider Total Control Training, and advocate increasing motorist recognition of motorcycles; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the month of May 2025 as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in California, acknowledges the need for awareness on the part of all drivers, especially with regard to sharing the road with motorcycles, and honors motorcyclists’ many contributions to the communities in which they live and ride; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.