Motorcycle advocates say ‘check twice to save a life’

TAUNTON, Mass. (WLNE) — The City of Taunton saw two motorcycle accidents back-to-back in only one week.

One accident killed a 39-year-old East Taunton man on Sept. 3., while two young men were seriously hurt after getting hit by a truck on their motorcycle the day after.

“Any sudden, unexpected, unintended situation that ends in a fatality, is tragic,” Co-founder of the Motorcycle Survivors Fund Paul Cote said.

Cote is also part of the  Check Twice Save a Life campaign.

He said that his group tries to educate against the idea that bikers over-aggressive.

“The best thing is for an old biker to teach a young biker to be an old biker,” Cote said. “Sometimes we have to smack people on the side of the head and say ‘smarten up.’ We don’t like going to funerals.”

He added that it seems like roads are less safe overall.

“People seem to be too much in a hurry driving, too much in a hurry to nowhere,” Cote said. “People just texting and driving, statistics are up in Massachusetts where police are citing more people for texting while driving.”

In Rhode Island, helmets are required for all riders under the age of 21 or who have been licensed less than one year and helmets are required for all passengers on a motorcycle.

In Massachusetts, both the operator and any passengers must wear a helmet.

“The mission continues, the dream lives on,” Cote said. “Everybody just wants to enjoy life and get home.”