Busy roadways and reduced respect for riders and drivers means it’s time for a renewed focus on safety. Especially as Arizona was just named one of the top 10 states with the worst drivers/riders in the nation.

Arizona Motorcycle Safety & Awareness Foundation (AMSAF) is playing a key role in the statewide effort known as Share the Road, which is geared to significantly reduce the number of crashes and fatalities on Arizona roadways. AMSAF, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (AZGOHS) and key sponsors are providing discounted rider scholarships so riders get properly trained, offer a unique helmet program with substantial savings to protect riders, and AMSAF provides information about the importance of roadway respect and the need to reduce distracted driving around the state.

Last year, along with more than 3,100 motorcycle and 123,000 “all other vehicle” crashes in which people were hurt, there were record numbers of fatalities. According to Mick Degn, executive director for AMSAF, last year, the economic loss due to vehicle crashes was more than $10 billion. Some 126,987 crashes took place in Arizona alone.

Degn says the Share the Road program is a statewide public awareness effort aimed at focusing Arizona motorists on the need to be undistracted when driving and provide scholarships, statewide, to train motorcyclists how to ride more defensively. This multi-pronged movement, which is geared to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities on Arizona roads, is supported and promoted by the Arizona governor, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (AZGOHS), AMSAF, Dignity Health (Chandler Regional Medical Center), RideNow Powersports, Law Tigers and many other supporters.

Share the Road originally was developed to provide training scholarships at a reduced cost so more Arizonans could get the training they need to ride safely. However, half of the crashes and fatalities on Arizona roadways are the result of distracted drivers.

For more information, visit amsaf.org.