May is Motorcycle Safety Month, and local enthusiasts say all motorists can participate in the mission to keep the area's ever-growing number of bikers safe.

Jim Miller of Chicora heads up the military escorts for the American Legion Riders of Butler.

Miller has had his motorcycle license since 1976, and now rides Harley-Davidson Wide Glide and Road Glide models.

The longtime biker said he took an advanced motorcycle safety class, but the safety measures he personally employs came from experience.

“Most of it is common sense,” Miller said.

He said riding defensively is the main method he uses to keep himself safe on the Harley.

When sitting at a red light or stop sign, Miller doesn't shift into neutral. He said remaining in first gear while holding in the clutch allows him to make an emergency maneuver if necessary.

When approaching a stop, he checks to see how he could get out of the way if a vehicle coming up behind him isn't paying attention and fails to stop.

If he is following a vehicle and notices another vehicle is on the right waiting to cross or enter his lane, he positions his bike on the right side of the lane, so the waiting vehicle can see him, instead of pulling out after the vehicle in front of him passes.

He is careful to stay well behind any vehicle he is following in case of a sudden stop, and he avoids riding in the middle of a lane of traffic.

“Very few people who know what they're doing will ride in the middle of the lane because that's where the debris usually is,” Miller said.

He wears a helmet, gloves, eye protection, long pants and boots each time he rides.

Regarding other motorists, Miller said drivers' texting and distracted driving are the biggest threat to motorcycles.

He said motorists also think motorcycles are farther away than they appear, and tend to believe they can make it if they need to pull in front of them.

He and a passenger ran into just such a situation last week on Route 422 in Indiana, Pa.

“A lady looked right at us and pulled directly out in front of us,” he said.

He said all motorists should pay full attention to the road, especially in the summertime.

“You should try to give people respect, whether they're in a car or on a bike, but today it's me, me, me,” Miller said.

Leroy Bunyan of Renfrew is a founder and past president of the American Legion Riders.

Bunyan has been motorcycle riding for nearly 50 years. His current bike is a Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra.

In all those years of piloting a Harley on public roads, he has had only one accident, and it was motorist error.

Bunyan said a car did a rolling stop at a four-way intersection, causing Bunyan to sideswipe the vehicle and dump the bike.

“He ran over part of my helmet with his rear wheels,” Bunyan recalled.

The driver did not acknowledge the wreck at first and went into a nearby store, but Bunyan shouted at him.

“He came back and took me to the hospital,” Bunyan said.

Luckily, Bunyan suffered only road rash and did not break any bones. His motorcycle hit a stone culvert and sustained damage that was repairable.

“My insurance company kept my helmet,” he said.

Bunyan said he is diligent at all times regarding other vehicles, especially cars waiting to turn onto the road he is traveling.

“People seem to think you can stop in a short distance, and a motorcycle cannot stop in a short distance,” he said.

When approaching a stop, Bunyan chooses a spot and it's never in the middle of the lane.

“I always go to the left taillight or right taillight, depending on what I consider to be the easiest escape route in case the car behind me doesn't stop,” he said.

Like Miller, he does not put his transmission in neutral at a stop, at least until he is sure all the vehicles behind him have stopped.

“Motorists don't respect the motorcycle,” Bunyan said. “They act like you're not there.”

One of Bunyan's pet peeves is when a vehicle pulls up close to him at a stop.

“Don't ride my back fender and get up on top of me,” he said. “Stay, I'd say, six to seven feet away from the rear of a motorcycle at a stop.”

Bunyan's biggest pet peeve is a driver who squeezes into the middle of a large pack of motorcycles to get off the highway at the next ramp.

“I don't know why they're in a big hurry and need to get in the middle of us,” he said. “That really bothers me.”

When following a motorcycle, Bunyan recommends drivers obey the two-second rule, meaning a driver should slowly count to two beginning when the motorcycle in front of him reaches a certain landmark, such as a sign, mailbox or fence post. The following vehicle should not reach that same landmark before they are done counting to two.

“If you're closer than that, you're too close to me,” Bunyan said.

In his 60s, Bunyan plans to continue riding for as long as he can.

“It's a very enjoyable sport,” he said. “People have just got to share the road.”

Eric Mershimer of Grove City is president of the Butler County chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education, or A.B.A.T.E.

He said the group is affiliated with the motorcycle-riding classes at the South Butler School District in Jefferson Township and distributes the yellow “Look Twice, Save a Life” signs seen in yards throughout the county.

A.B.A.T.E. offers the Operation Save A Life program, which teaches motorists how to safely share the road with motorcycles.

Mershimer laments that the group once offered the program at Knoch, Moniteau, Grove City and other high schools, but lost the schools when they ceased their drivers' education programs.

Mershimer has been riding since the 1980s and currently owns five Triumph motorcycles.

“I ride down the road like I'm invisible,” he said of his personal safety measures. “I assume people are going to pull out in front of me all the time.”

When asked what's his biggest frustration with other motorists, Mershimer echoes Miller's sentiments.

“The same old thing, texting and drunken driving and left turns,” he said. “They're killing us the worst.”

Like Miller and Bunyan, he said when a motorist sitting at a stop sign prepares to turn left, the motorcycle doesn't appear to be as close as it is because it's smaller than a car or truck.

He has seen accidents permanently affect fellow A.B.A.T.E. members.

“Four people in my chapter are missing legs,” Mershimer said.

To schedule an Operation Save A Life session or learn about the charity rides the Butler County A.B.A.T.E. chapter has available, search “Butler County Chapter 13 — ABATE of Pa.”