SFMTA Awarded Grant to Continue 5th Year of Vision Zero Motorcycle Safety Program

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) today announced that is has received a $75,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) that focuses on the safety of motorcyclists. This grant supports the city’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths.

Grant funds will be used for a variety of activities promoting motorcycle safety and include:

• Participating in Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May
• Collaborating with the San Francisco Police Department to provide eight hands-on motorcycle training courses, where riders can practice various safety skills and to improve their defensive riding
• Providing motorcycle clubs, shops, riders, and drivers motorcycle safety material to increase awareness about motorcycle safety
• Developing a framework to evaluate how motorcycle-adjacent riders (e.g. People who ride scooters) might benefit from safety educational material

Each year in San Francisco, about 30 people lose their lives and over 500 more are severely injured while traveling on city streets. California has nearly 900,000 registered motorcycles. In San Francisco, we know that motorcycle riders are a vulnerable road user and are more likely to experience severe or fatal injuries when they are involved in a traffic collision. Motorcycle deaths continue to be overrepresented in traffic deaths (21% of all traffic fatalities in 2020) and this underscores the need for more safety training and education.

This grant program runs from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Vision Zero (www.visionzerosf.org) – Vision Zero is the City’s commitment to prioritizing street safety and ending traffic deaths. These deaths and injuries are unacceptable and preventable, and San Francisco is committed to stopping further loss of life. The full program is outlined in the Vision Zero SF Action Strategy.

Office of Traffic Safety (www.ots.ca.gov) – The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is committed to our vision of a transportation system where everyone traveling on California roads will go safely. The OTS does this by administering traffic safety grants to local and state agencies for innovative programs that strive to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries. These programs educate road users on traffic laws and best safety practices that keep everyone safe when on the go.

# # #