(Radio Iowa)- Motorcycles make up just four-percent of all registered vehicles in Iowa, but the Iowa D-O-T says motorcycle fatalities last year accounted for nearly 18-percent of the state’s total traffic deaths. Kelly Hilsabeck, the trauma injury prevention coordinator at Emplify Health by Gundersen, says the warmer weather brings out droves of motorcycles, and she implores motorists to “look twice.” “Because motorcycles are smaller, they just aren’t as visible, so other motorists on the road need to be aware of that and especially when turning or changing lanes,” Hilsabeck says. “You do a quick glance over your shoulder, do it again. Sometimes that motorcycle being smaller is in a blind spot, so just giving a second look can help avoid a collision.”

For drivers who find themselves following a motorcycle in traffic, Hilsabeck urges you to back off and give them plenty of room. “Motorists really just need to stay a safe distance back if they find themselves driving behind a motorcycle,” she says. “Motorcyclists use certain things like downshifting, where you’re not going to necessarily see a brake light, so that’s really important for motorists to understand.” According to D-O-T data from the past several years, 74-percent of the motorcyclists killed in Iowa were not wearing helmets. The national average is 38-percent. Iowa is one of three states in the country with no helmet laws, along with Illinois and New Hampshire.

“Motorcyclists can do tons of things to keep themselves safe,” Hilsabeck says, “but I would say helmets are the number-one thing that’s really going to reduce a chance of severe injury or even death.” Other things motorcyclists can do to protect themselves include: keeping your headlight on all the time to increase visibility, wearing some form of eye protection, and wearing bright-colored clothing. She adds, “It also means for your clothing, just having a jacket and pants to cover all those skin surfaces to protect from abrasion in the event of a crash.” The D-O-T says 63 motorcyclists were killed on Iowa’s roads last year, with five motorcycle deaths reported statewide so far this year.

Emplify Health by Gundersen has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.