The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- May is Motorcycle Awareness month, and riders out there want to remind you to keep an extra out for them.

With warmer temperatures ahead of us, you might notice more motorcycles on the road. The best way to ensure the safety of every one is to simply remember to share the road.

“The main message we have for all the drivers out there is, when it’s motorcycle season, to look twice and safe a life,” said Steven King a member of the Freedom of Road Riders. “We are out there, and we’re family members. We have mothers, daughters’ even granddaughters riding these days, so it’s just like one of your family members being out there. Take a second and look out for us, and we’ll look out for you.

In the state of Missouri, motorcyclists must wear a helmet at all times, wear protective eye gear and have their headlights on even during the day.

“Some older models are grandfathered in because they don’t have the proper wiring for it,” King said.

Members of the Freedom of Road Riders, a motorcycle rights organization in Northeast Missouri, have come up with a motto: Look Twice, Save a Life.

"One of our slogans is ‘Look Twice, Save a Life’ and that’s what we really suggest, especially during this time of year and all through the summer,” King said. “For drivers of regular vehicles when they come up to an intersection before they pull out, just take a second glance. Motorcycles are kind of small, they sometimes hide in the foliage and that’s why we came up with ‘Look Twice, Save a Life.”

Drivers aren’t the only one that should be careful when out on the road, motorcyclists need to be aware of their surroundings as well.

“Since motorcyclists are on two wheels and not four, they don’t have near the traction available for stopping. It actually takes them just as long, if not longer, to stop,” said King. “If there is gravel or any sort of debris on the road, motorcyclists have a hard time with traction and trying to stop.”

To learn more about Freedom of Road Riders and the safety courses they provide click here.