‘Like launching a missile’: High-speed motorcycle crashes alarm police

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Motorcycle accidents in Calgary have accelerated dramatically, prompting city police to crack down with harsher charges in an attempt to slow the trend.

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Through the end of September, there were 117 motorcycle crashes or collisions on city streets, a 54 percent increase from the 76 accidents during the same period a year ago.

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So far this year, there have been three motorcycle fatalities in Calgary, equal to the total number for 2021, and all of them have occurred in the last month.

The number of accidents is in line with those recorded in the pre-pandemic years of 2016 to 2018, said Master Sgt. Rob Patterson of the Calgary Police Service traffic section.

But it is 38 percent higher than the 2019 figure and is a definite cause for concern given the accelerated craving for speed that is too often mixed with inexperience and lack of training, he said.

“People are operating a motorcycle beyond their capabilities, they are not trained (to travel) at these speeds,” Patterson said, adding that drivers are at fault in 60 percent of accidents.

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“And motorcycles are much less forgiving than four-wheelers.”

On September 28, a 48-year-old bicyclist traveling at an estimated speed of 200 km/h crashed into the rear of an SUV on Stoney Trail near 17th Avenue SE.

At that speed, there was little time for the driver to react when the driver of the SUV changed lanes in front of him “and the bike crushed the rear of the car enough to bend the tires on the vehicle’s wheels,” Patterson said.

“It’s like launching a missile.”

Police and motorcycle instructors say they have seen a worrying rise in groups of motorcyclists who often try to out-race, speed and stun each other and eagerly share their experiences on social media.

“They present an absolute threat on the roadways, it’s unacceptable and it’s dangerous,” Patteson said.

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That mentality has contributed to three high-speed encounters with police in recent weeks, one ending out of town with the bicyclist followed by a CPS HAWC helicopter.

“Due to his inexperience, he left his bike and the other two (in separate incidents) were trapped in areas they couldn’t get out of,” Patterson said.

All of those passengers were charged with dangerous driving, a criminal code offense more serious than a traffic citation that police say they are increasingly resorting to in an attempt to deter such two-wheeler misbehavior.

“We’re seeing that a lot more and we’re changing tactics with less tolerance than in the past … we’re upping the ante with those charges,” Patterson said.

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“Hopefully, it will be a bit more of a deterrent.”

Lanchi Dech said he recalls following a motorcyclist doing a wheelie from Glenmore Trail almost to 17th Avenue SW, a distance of a few miles.

“It was just ridiculous and we see it all the time, along with the lane change and the entry and exit,” said Dech, who helps run the Too Cool Motorcycle School.

“Many of them think they are invincible, that ‘nothing can happen to me’”.

She points out that a training course is not required before acquiring a Class 6 license and that many passengers drop out of formal instruction, often due to a cost that can range from $500 to $600 that includes literature review and a component. practical.

“It’s that part of not knowing what you don’t know until all of a sudden you do,” Dech said.

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Some start out riding a bike too big for them and some even go straight to requisitioning a motorcycle without even learning how to ride a bike, he said.

That lack of training can ingrain bad driving habits, said her husband Trevor Dech, a 32-year-old instructor.

“It’s a pyramid effect where there are a bunch of little mistakes that lead to a big mistake where someone gets hurt or killed,” he said.

Staying focused is key, he said, and something to be encouraged.

“It’s what people lack when they haven’t developed the focus muscle,” Dech said.

That’s crucial to ensuring defensive driving capability on roads where four-wheelers often miss motorcyclists or follow them dangerously, the two say.

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Police say a common cause of car-motorcycle collisions occurs when four-wheelers turn left without paying full attention.

That’s an inherent problem in a city with a colder climate where there are an increasing number of bikes on the road, Lanchi Dech said.

“In Calgary, there’s such a short riding season that by the time people realize bikes are on the road, it’s already over,” he said.

According to the Alberta government, 134,137 motorcycles were registered last year compared to 111,207 in 2017 in a province that in recent years has led the country in per capita bike ownership.

With more bikes on the road, and in some years for a longer period of time, that can only result in more accidents, experts say.

CPS’s Patterson said he would support a move toward mandatory training for motorcyclists.

“It’s always up to people to be as well trained as possible and take advice from experienced riders,” he said.

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Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn