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Hitting the open road in Arizona, safely

Tempe, Ariz., May 16, 2011 - Whether it’s fulfilling the dream of owning a motorcycle or saving some cash on gas mileage, the popularity of hitting the open road in Arizona isn’t waning.

A recent study from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) had some good news for Arizona motorcyclists, which showed a 2 percent decrease in motorcycle fatalities in 2010. However, the same report showed an increase in fatalities during the third quarter of the same year.

“The safety of everyone is our main concern,” says State Farm® spokeswoman Angela Thorpe. “We believe motorcycle safety goes beyond the motorcyclists and their passengers since they’re sharing the road.”

Here are some tips for drivers and motorcyclists while they share the road.

Tips for Drivers

The NHTSA offers these tips to make sure you share the road safely with motorcyclists:

• Always allow a motorcyclist the full lane width.
• Don't assume a motorcycle is going to turn just because its signal is flashing.Some signals are not self-canceling and motorcyclists forget to turn them off.
• Motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars, so allow greater following distance.
• Realize wet pavement and road debris can create driving conditions especially hazardous for motorcyclists.

Tips for Motorcyclists

The GHSA has identified the following tips for motorcyclists

• Wear your helmet. According to a recent national motorcycle fatality report from the (GHSA), 37 percent of the time helmets were effective at preventing fatal injuries to motorcycle drivers and their passengers.
• Don’t drink and ride.
• Slow down. In the same report, 35 percent of motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes were speeding. More than half of all motorcycle fatal crashes did not involve another vehicle, and speeding likely contributed to many of these.

Nationally, State Farm insures nearly a million motorcycle riders and has offered motorcycle insurance for nearly 50 years.

Contact

Angela Thorpe, State Farm Insurance (303) 264-1560.

About State Farm

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. Our 17,800 agents and more than 66,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts- more than 79 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.