Local bikers react to multiple recent motorcycle-involved crashes

Local bikers tell ABC57 they're aware of these incidents, and some motorcyclists say they're now looking over their shoulders and checking their blind spots a little more often.

“I ride like I'm invisible and no one can see me because if you don't, and you're just going along about your business, yeah, you can still get hit, but you're more aware, you're driving like you're invisible,” said Joe Payne, local biker for more than 30 years.

Payne says he's noticed conditions for motorcyclists getting worse in the past few years.

“A lot of its cell phones, but also, a lot of the safety features that cars have, like keeping it in your lane, it'll beep if it sees a car next to you, it might not register with a motorcycle. The reality is, a lot of people, they don't care, it's about them, they're on their way, don't be in their way,” said Payne.

Whether you've been riding for decades like Payne or just bought a bike in the last two years like Anthony Mendez, there's a common theme among local bikers - a desire to have their place on the road like everyone else.

During ABC57’s interview with Mendez, multiple motorcyclists passed by who were not wearing helmets, something he says is out of the question.

“Helmet is a big non-negotiable, you'll see people out here riding without helmets, all it takes is your head to just hit the concrete, and you could be gone right there,” said Mendez.

Payne says the local biker community is a small one, and when motorcycle crashes happen, everyone in the community is effected.