As gas prices remain at record levels, more people are turning to gas efficient transportation. Motorcycle sales continue to soar, which means more bikes are on the roads now than ever before. Motorcycles used to be all about fun and recreation on a sunny weekend afternoon. Now, many are riding two wheels to save money.

Michelle Braxton, Taking Motorcycle Safety Course - "With gas prices the way they are, I think it will be good for me going to work and just getting around town."

In the last six years, motorcycle registrations are up 51 percent. Many of those new riders are enrolling in motorcycle safety classes like the one here at Virginia Western Community College.

Braxton - "My husband rides, he's riden all of his life and I've always been on the back of his bike and after awhile, you get tired of being on the back."

In this class, it’s learning the basics. An attempt to help these riders, many accustomed to driving four wheels, avoid danger on two.

Michael Rayl, Taking Motorcycle Safety Course - "Necessity leads to something like this. You can't afford to drive your own vehicle, you hop on a motorcycle you've never been on before and you don't know how to operate it, the next thing you know you're flying over the hood of somebody's vehicle."

And that's something these instructors are trying to prevent. The number of crashes continue to climb as more motorcycles hit the roads. According to the D.M.V., nearly 2,600 crashes last year in Virginia, involved motorcycles. 126 people died. That's up from 70 in 2006.

In his spare time, Steve Honaker is an instructor, but his full time job as a Roanoke Police officer and he knows the importance of safety.

Ofc. Steve Honaker, Roanoke Police - "You don't have the protection, you don't have the stability you do in a car and it takes a little finer skills to operate the motorcycle."

Skills he hopes these riders learn before riding on their own.

Braxton - "You just hope what you learned is going to come in play on the field."

Enrollment in Virginia Western's safety classes have more than doubled in the last four years.   Similar classes are offered across our area.

 

Click here for a list of motorcycle classes in the area.