UPDATED: Pasadena police to crack down on motorcycle safety Sunday

PASADENA – Police will field extra officers Sunday in a crackdown targeted at motorcycle safety, officials said.
“Additional officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur,” Pasadena police said in a written statement.
“Officers are looking for drivers and riders who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol and cracking down on traffic violations made by motorcyclists as well as other vehicle drivers that can lead to motorcycle collisions, injuries and fatalities,” the statement said.
A Pasadena man died Saturday evening after colliding with a car on his motorcycle at the intersection of Walnut Street and Meredith Avenue, according to Lt. Cheryl Moody.
It was the first motorcycle fatality in the city in more than a year and a half, officials said. The safety crackdown was planned prior to the crash.
Following a steady decade of increasing motorcycle fatalities statewide, from 204 in 1998 to 560 in 2008, the trend is reversing, officials said.
Officials saw a 29.6 percent decrease in motorcycle fatalities across the state in 2009, down to 394. Preliminary data from 2010 indicates motorcyclist deaths continued to drop another 10 percent to 353.
For information on motorcycle safety training, visit the California Motorcyclist Safety Program online at www.CA-msp.org, or call 877-743-3411.
Funding for Sunday’s enforcement campaign is being provided by a grant from California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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