Motorcycle Safety
Awareness

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) 2020 Motorcycle Safety campaigns are great examples of how we increase media impact and behavior change. Motorcycle fatalities in Colorado have been increasing annually since 2011. The year 2020 brought COVID-19, stay-at-home orders and shutdowns across Colorado. The long winter months, followed by the shutdown during Colorado’s spring weather, saw more and more motorcyclists taking to the roadways at their first opportunity. As a result, motorcycle fatalities began trending in a concerning direction—24% higher than the same time the previous year. The alarming increase in fatalities necessitated an urgent message to reach motorists during the height of COVID-19 restrictions.

Almost 40% of motorcycle injuries occur when a motorcyclist collides with a car that is turning left. We noticed that most vehicles have something in common on their windshield’s left side: an oil change reminder sticker. From this simple observation, a natural partnership was formed with Colorado-based Grease Monkey to update its oil service reminder stickers with “Look Twice, Save a Life” messaging and the CDOT logo. A total of 64 Grease Monkey locations throughout the state of Colorado are participating and distributing more than 60,000 stickers, a quantity that will last the duration of fall motorcycle riding season.

Grease Monkey and CDOT worked to plan a press conference announcing the partnership and sharing ways drivers can prevent crashes with motorcycles. Within days, the press release and Grease Monkey partnership were covered by every major city in Colorado. In addition to the Grease Monkey partnership, R&R Partners has recruited other community champions to promote motorcycle safety. Vehicles from Groove Auto and the CDOT fleet have been wrapped with motorcycle safety messages, and stencils of cheese graters have been painted on the road outside of six motorcycle-related businesses.