{"id":322852,"date":"2026-06-04T18:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/322852\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:29:09","slug":"dallas-county-leads-north-texas-in-motorcycle-crashes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/322852\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas County leads North Texas in motorcycle crashes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Motor<\/p>\n

Motor officer Donnie Williams of the McKinney Police Dept. begins his Slow Ride run on the police ribbon shaped-course in the 5th Annual Spring Classic Police Motorcycle Training and Skills Competition at The Home Depot in South Grand Prairie, Texas, Friday, April 24, 2015. The event, hosted by the The Grand Prairie Police Department Motor Unit, raises money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, and in turn support the Special Olympic Athletes and Special Olympics. (Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News)<\/p>\n

Tom Fox\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

Donnie Williams wants to keep North Texas motorcyclists safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Williams and his wife started the North Texas Motorcycle Safety Course<\/a> 17 years ago to teach others how to be safe on two wheels. The course provides \u201chands-on, learner-centered, step-by-step [lessons on] everything from the ground up,\u201d according to its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI started on the police motorcycle unit with McKinney in 2003, and have been doing that since,\u201d Williams said. \u201cSo, I literally ride a motorcycle all day, most days, at work in addition to running the motorcycle training school.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Texas Department of Transportation\u2019s statewide campaign<\/a> for motorcycle safety awareness started in early May. TxDOT hopes to help motorists become more aware of motorcyclists on the road and remind them of basic safety precautions. The transportation authority also urges motorcyclists to do their part in being safe riders. TxDOT urges motorists and motorcyclists to remember these tips when on the road.<\/p>\n

Slow down when you are driving<\/p>\n

The transportation authority said speeding makes every crash more deadly. Obey the posted speed limit signs. Drive safely and pay attention to road conditions. Follow the flow of traffic, and do not stop or brake suddenly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Give driving your full attention<\/p>\n

Momentary distractions such as fiddling with the radio or sneaking a french fry can cause a driver to take their eyes off the road and have deadly consequences. According to TxDOT, 37%<\/a> of motorcycle fatalities happen at intersections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Look twice. Be mindful of your surroundings and focus on the road ahead. Check the rearview and side mirrors frequently, and don\u2019t forget to look at your blind spots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t crowd other drivers<\/p>\n

Keep a safe following distance. Leave a car\u2019s length of room between yourself and the person in front of you, whether it be another vehicle, motorcycle or cyclist. Sometimes, motorcycles slow down by downshifting, which does not trigger the brake lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you need to pass a motorcycle, be sure there is enough space. Do not crowd into the lane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cToo many motorcyclists are killed on Texas roads, and we can help prevent these crashes by sharing the road,\u201d said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams in a news release. \u201cLooking twice is how you drive like a Texan: Kind. Courteous. Safe. And can mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams’ safety course offers basic and advanced training as well as private lessons. In Texas, it is mandatory for motorcyclists to go through basic training courses prior to obtaining their license.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest priority to us is always safety,\u201d Williams said. \u201cRiding a motorcycle is dangerous, so we feel that is something that should always be taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been more than 12,000 accidents involving motorcycles in North Texas since 2020, according to data obtained by Dallas Morning News\u2019 researcher Sarah Haldeman. Since early May, 610 motorcycle-related accidents have occurred in the region, with 197 of them in Dallas County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Wise County has had the highest number of motorcycle accidents per capita in North Texas, 202 accidents per 100,000 residents. According to\u00a0TxDOT, about two motorcyclists die on Texas roads every day. Most motorcycle accidents are caused by speed and 37% of all motorcycle accidents happen at intersections.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many accidents are the result of motorcyclists not obeying traffic laws and speeding or driving recklessly,\u201d Williams said. \u201cDrivers need to be less distracted and need to be more aware of all the vehicles and motorcycles on the road with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Motor officer Donnie Williams of the McKinney Police Dept. begins his Slow Ride run on the police ribbon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6715,100447,3961,27,29,28,88572,87998,89138,840,271],"class_list":["post-322852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-motorcycle","tag-news-transportation","tag-safety","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tp-transportation","tag-tp-dallas","tag-tp-dallas-county","tag-transportation","tag-txdot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}