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Crash study partly funded by the industry scheduled to start

A study examining causes for motorcycle crashes will soon get under way, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

Announced by the Federal Highway Administration on Oct. 5, the study will give a fuller picture of how motorcycles fit into today’s traffic mix, a better understanding of what causes motorcycle crashes and insights into the best strategies to prevent these crashes.

“The announcement that the full study will now begin is great news,” Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations, said in a press release. “While the study will take years to complete, it promises to offer up information that will allow for the creation of effective countermeasures to make the roads safer for all of us.”

The project, which will be done at Oklahoma State University, will be administered at the Oklahoma Transportation Center, an independent research facility. Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a pilot study in the Southern California area to finalize the methodology for the comprehensive research study.

In 2005, Congress approved the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, and the legislation called for the study. Lawmakers pledged $2.8 million for the research, and asked the motorcycling community to match it.

“In 2007, the AMA committed $100,000, and AMA members contributed an additional $27,000 in our Fuel the Fund campaign,” Moreland said. “Since then, six state safety programs have pledged another $560,000. We hope that others in the motorcycling community will join us in supporting the crash study.”

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