Edmonton police are asking motorcycle drivers to take their need for speed to the racetrack, amid an increase in collisions on city streets.
In total, there were 119 crashes involving motorcycles last year, including 67 injury collisions and three fatalities. The Edmonton Police Service said injury collisions involving motorcyclists were also up 19 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.
Acting Staff Sgt. James McLeod of the EPS traffic enforcement section said this is the time of year when speeding also increases on city streets, by both motorcyclists and other motorists.
“The highest speed that we’ve unfortunately captured this year is 220 km/h, and that was specific to Anthony Henday Drive, which a lot of our motorists do treat as a raceway,” McLeod said.
“The faster you do travel, it lessens the time to react. So it just decreases that ability to react to the threat in front of you.”
Just last week, a 24-year-old man was killed in a motorcycle collision in which police believe speed was a factor. It happened on Yellowhead Trail at Fort Road.
In hopes of reducing the number of collisions and fatalities on city streets, the EPS is encouraging motorcyclists to “take it to the track” and enrol in the Motorheads Track Attacks program.
Offered at the Stratotech Park in Fort Saskatchewan and Castrol Raceway in Nisku, the program gives riders an opportunity to learn how to race their bikes on a safe and closed race course.
“I get it. Everybody wants to see what their machine is capable of doing,” said EPS Const. Calvin Ozimko, who has been riding his motorcycle at racetracks for about a decade.
“Ultimately, the goal is — every bike season — we don’t want to lose any riders. So we want to get everybody out here to push themselves and practise their skills in an environment where it pertains to safety.
“Whether you’re a new rider or an experienced rider, you can come out to these events and you’re going to get some solid advice or instruction on everything from proper gear to bike setup to even how to drag your knee around the corner.”
Brian Worsdall is the owner of the Motorheads Track Attacks program. He bought his first motorcycle at 19 and fell in love overnight, but admits he wasn’t always safe on the road.
“I like how fast they were, how powerful, and just liked the performance that they’re capable of, and to get that performance out on the public streets is just not the place. They’re designed to be ridden on a racetrack and I’ll admit, I was a bit of a hooligan on the street. I was reckless and irresponsible,” Worsdall said.
“My luck almost ran out.”
Worsdall was involved in a collision in which he T-boned a truck on Jasper Avenue at 109 Street. The truck and his bike were totalled, but he was lucky to walk away with only a few scrapes.
“My roommate at the time picked me up from the hospital and said, ‘Man, you really gotta get your fix for speed out at the racetrack.’ And I had no idea that there was even an outlet for that at the time,” he said.
“I fell in love with it and I’ve sort of made it my mission over the last decade to get other people to bring it to the track and take that stuff off the public streets where they’re going to hurt themselves or hurt other people. It’s just not the place.
“The track riding has probably saved my life, let alone countless others.”
The company rents out the two local tracks for public events. More information on the Motorheads can be found on their website.
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