Agencies in Wyoming and Montana say they have been responding to an unusually high number of motorcycle crashes on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways. They blame speed, weather, distracted driving and lack of experience on winding roads.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
By Andrew Rossi<\/p>\n\n\n\n Too many motorcycles are crashing in northwest Wyoming. Law enforcement officers and first responders wish they\u2019d stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple agencies in Wyoming and Montana have been responding to an unusually high number of motorcycle incidents on Wyoming 296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, and U.S. 212, the Beartooth Highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been enough that Park County Fire District 2 issued a statement urging motorcyclists to \u201cconsider the challenges\u201d before embarking on the narrow, winding mountain passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis stretch of road is one of the most beautiful in Wyoming, but right now, it\u2019s also one of the most unpredictable,\u201d said Jerry Parker, administrator of Park County Fire District 2. \u201cWyoming\u2019s mountain passes are unforgiving!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aaron Brown, spokesman for the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP), was still compiling crash statistics from Wyoming 296 and U.S. 212 on Friday. It was difficult to get a hard number because multiple agencies responded to several different incidents, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the data available, he said there\u2019s \u201cdefinitely been an increase\u201d in motorcycle incidents on both stretches of highway. They\u2019ve responded to at least 13, most involving motorcycles, between both highways in the last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe WHP has seen five motorcycle crashes on the Beartooth Highway this year, and all of them have been in July,\u201d he said. \u201cA few had minor injuries and at one reported had serious injuries, but no fatalities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Colloquially, Brown has heard about the increase in motorcycle crashes from WHP troopers stationed in northwest Wyoming. The number of incidents has risen to a noteworthy level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne trooper was telling me they’ve heard reports of even more motorcycle crashes up there,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have all the reports because some of those were county responses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Brown, multiple factors contributed to these crashes, but the result has been the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt tends to be lane usage,\u201d he said. \u201cIn other words, (motorcycles) are coming around a curve, and they’re not making their lane, missing the lane and going off the road, not negotiating a turn correctly, or swerving and not staying on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These factors are a problem for motorcycles on all roads, but the tight curves on Wyoming 296 and U.S. 212 are especially hazardous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown said one exacerbating factor is the lack of a shoulder along these highways, particularly the switchbacks drivers must take to ascend and descend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn the Beartooth Highway, the white line is the shoulder,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don’t really have a shoulder to speak of, so when you hit that white line, which you might if you aren’t ready for it, you\u2019ll just go off the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weather is another important consideration. There have been afternoon and evening thunderstorms in northwest Wyoming every day for the last few weeks, which can quickly make the pavement slick and dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Brown, using \u201ccurves\u201d to describe these mountain passes might be too generous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom a bird’s-eye view on the map, it looks less like curves in the road and more like an EKG reading,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are sharp, narrow curves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to fatal accidents in Wyoming, speed is the top contributing factor. Second place, according to Brown, is distracted driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where the natural beauty of the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highways might be contributing to the rise in motorcycle crashes. Brown said he thinks it\u2019s more than a possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMotorcycle drivers might not be looking at their phones, but they\u2019re out in the open air, enjoying the ride on the most beautiful highways in the entire nation. You can get distracted by the beautiful landscape. A motorcycle on those curves, especially at highway speeds, can’t afford to get distracted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the allures of these highways is how remote and untouched by civilization they feel. That, too, can be a detriment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Large portions of these highways have no cellular service. That makes it hard to notify first responders when an accident occurs, adding more time to an already difficult and time-consuming response. \u2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery second counts when it comes to these serious calls,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe have to switch to conventional radio towers and satellite phones just to communicate, and when you need a life flight, it can be difficult to get that message out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts Aug. 7 in South Dakota. Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will be traveling there from across the country and often take a detour across the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highways on their route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parker and Park County Fire District 2 urged motorcycles to use extra caution in northwest Wyoming: Slow down through curves and blind corners, pull over during storms or low visibility, and always be alert and aware of other drivers, livestock, and wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown believes there\u2019s another essential safety consideration that might be contributing to these crashes. The best way for motorcycle drivers to proactively prevent crashes is to be honest with themselves before heading out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think, at the end of the day, we’re seeing a lot of riders trying to go outside of their skill set,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say they\u2019re not good enough to do the Beartooth and Chief Joseph, but they need to ride within their skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As alluring as these mountain passes might be, they also might be too much for even experienced riders to handle. Brown believes many don\u2019t anticipate the number of sharp turns they\u2019ll encounter, one after another, along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a motorcycle is already going too fast, an unexpected curve can quickly lead to a crash and serious injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe number of sharp curves might be beyond what a specific biker may be willing or able to do at their skill level,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a general dangerousness to those curves, especially if there\u2019s no shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone can safely enjoy the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Scenic Highways on a motorcycle, but these routes are inherently challenging, even for experienced drivers, Brown said. He hopes more drivers will consider themselves and their abilities before taking any risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do the Beartooth or Chief Joseph, ride within your skills and slow down,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a place you want to be crashing out on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This report reminded me of the road up to the Livermore Observatory in California, as it was pretty windy and narrow with not much shoulder, also having switchbacks. And I had one of the neatest experiences on that road, as I came around a corner on my sportbike to a Coyote with the most amazing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18180,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177\/revisions\/18180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Emergency](\"https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.imgix.net\/Crash-on-Chief-Joseph-highway-7.24.26.png?ixlib=js-3.8.0&q=75&auto=format%2Ccompress\")
Injurious July<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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