Students Schooled in Motorcycle Awareness

If your student is enrolled in driver's education classes in Minooka, Romeoville or Plainfield high schools, chances are they have met Mike "Monty" Montgomery.

"If you listen to people who hit a motorcycle, the thing you hear most often is, 'I did not see them,'" he said. "They did not see them because they were’t looking for them.

"It takes constant reminding for people to really be aware of motorcycles on the road."

Montgomery is the Safety and Awareness Director for Will County A.B.A.T.E., an organization whose mission is to preserve the universal right to a safe, unrestricted motorcycling environment, according to its Web site. They do that in a number of ways, including educating the public about motorcycles.

"What we teach is motorcycle awareness," he said. "Awareness will help prevent accidents more than anything else. What it really takes is a lot more training on the eye and the awareness of the kids."

Municipalities are supporting the awareness of motorcycles on the roads by passing proclamations making May motorcycle awareness month. Channahon and Minooka both made the proclamation, as did Shorewood, Joliet, Romeoville and Plainfield. Other villages have proclaimed May motorcycle awareness month in the past and will likely do so at an upcoming board meeting.

"I was happy to make the proclamation," Channahon Village President Joe Cook said. "The riders around here do so much for the public.

"Just about every weekend, there's a charity bike run."

Montgomery said most students know of someone who rides a motorcycle and can related to some of the facts they are taught. Often though, he says he is surprised that students haven't learned hand signals. The hand signals used by motorcyclists are the same as the ones drivers use if they cannot use their signals, with some exceptions. But he wants to be sure that students know if a motorcyclist is trying to signal that he is turning or stopping.

"They’re getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and they don’t know how to communicate," he said. "They should know when the motorcycle is using a hand signal that they need to know to slow down."

In addition to teaching students directly, Montgomery teaches driver's education teacher where they are getting their training, to include information about watching for motorcycles.

For more information on A.B.A.T.E. or to join the group, visit the Web site.