SALT LAKE CITY — Motorcycles have been a part of Robert Hulett's life for as long as he can remember.
"I started on dirt bikes when I was probably seven or eight years old; when I was 16, I got my motorcycle license and I've been riding ever since," Hulett said.
After a couple near misses over the years, including an accident when he was 19, Hulett decided to install cameras on his motorcycle for liability reasons. Luckily, in the accident, he walked away unscathed, but his motorcycle was irreparable.
"When there's an incident or accident, video never lies," he said. "It's a way to cover me,"
On Sunday, during one of Hulett's spring rides, he was on his motorcycle for just three minutes when a near accident occurred and video captured it all.
"I was riding down main street in Tooele in the left lane, next to the green truck, as I was pulling up the truck decided to push into my lane," Hulett recalled.
Two minutes later his camera caught another near miss.
"The vehicle didn't stop, it just ran through the stop light right in front of traffic and cut across two lanes, that left me nowhere to go," Hulett said.
He says when riding a motorcycle, you have to pay 100 times more attention than in a car.
"I see all kinds of people that are in a hurry; they run red lights, I see all kinds of people not paying attention, not just to motorcycles, but cars as well. Being on a motorcycle I don't have the kind of protection I have in my car. If something happens that's going to hurt a lot," Hulett said.
Sgt. Cameron Roden with the Utah Highway Patrol says during warmer months there are more motorcyclists on the road leading to an increase in motorcycle accidents and fatalities between now and the fall.
Numbers show August is the month with the most motorcycle-related fatalities. Roden says UHP sees about a 50-50 split between motorcycle riders and motorists being at fault.
"With motorcyclists, we see following too closely and speed issues," he explained. "With motorists, we see following too closely as well, failure to yield the right of way to motorcycles, and improper turns in front of motorcycles as well."
Both Sgt. Roden and Hulett say there are things motorcyclists and motorists can do to make the roads safer.
"For the motorcycle rider, be as safe as possible, make sure you have the proper equipment, make sure you have the proper training, and trying to anticipate what other vehicles may do may prevent an accident,"said Roden. "For motorists, making sure that you're focusing and actually actively looking for motorcyclists."
"Cars, motorcycles, trucks, anybody needs to remember the laws, stop at red lights, come to a complete stop, yield the right of way, it's really important for safety, not just for motorcycles, but cars too," Hulett said.
