Just days after local police and emergency crews responded to the third motorcycle fatality in a little over three months - and the second deadly bike crash within a week - Newtown was saddled with the sad distinction of being the location of half of all the motorcycle deaths in Connecticut since January.

This dubious detail was confirmed by Neil Chaudhary, PhD, a local resident, Legislative Council member, and leader of a Trumbull team of premier investigators on behavioral traffic safety-related issues at Preusser Research Group, Inc.

Dr Chaudhary, who couldn't help but know this sad fact having read about the crashes in The Newtown Bee and on social networks, started becoming more concerned when the second crash occurred close to home in Sandy Hook on a road he drives on fairly regularly, albeit in a four-wheel vehicle and not a motorcycle.

The second crash also had sad but coincidental timing to the release of a first-of-its-kind study by a trio of researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's Motorcycle Research Group and Center for Automated Vehicle Systems, along with a colleague from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

The first of Newtown's tragic incidents occurred about 3 pm on Thursday, January 19, when Michael Defusco, age 42 was riding a 2011 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle on Mt Pleasant Road. According to police, the vehicle traveled off the roadway and struck some flex-beam metallic guardrails, resulting in fatal injuries.

Then, on Tuesday, April 18, at about 5:26 pm, Martin Amidon, 37, of Newtown was riding what witnesses described as a large frame motorcycle near 195 Riverside Road when he crashed, police said. The investigating officers are still seeking witnesses to the actual crash, or who saw the motorcycle traveling in the area before it occurred.

(Anyone who can assist in the investigation can contact Officer Bart Lorancaitis at 203-426-5841.)

Five days later, Jaclyn Ann Schulz, 27, of Dodgingtown was riding her 2010 Harley-Davidson Sportster northward on Currituck Road north of Interstate 84 at about 7:47 pm, when she went off the right side of the road, struck a curb and then a utility pole, resulting in fatal injuries, according to police.

Police say both Ms Schulz and Mr Amidon were wearing a helmet when the accidents took place, while Mr Defusco was not.

These incidents brought the Virginia Tech study into sharp focus for Dr Chaudhary, who said the likelihood of having three such severe and unrelated crashes in one relatively small geographical area is something of a statistical anomaly.

'A Good Study'

Although the Virginia Tech research was somewhat limited, utilizing data generated by just 100 riders, the traffic safety research expert said its detailed methodology, data collection, and outcomes bode well for a second phase, hopefully utilizing a much larger group of motorcyclists.

"It's a good study," Dr Chaudhary told The Bee. "Virginia Tech is like the Mecca, where all the top experts are working to capture naturalistic, real-time information from their subjects."

Normally, Dr Chaudhary stands at a roadside observing drivers during a snapshot in time.

"But what these guys do at Virginia Tech is instrument the vehicles. And I think this is the first time anybody ever instrumented 100 motorcycles," he said. "Now they'll work out any bugs, hopefully ahead of another much larger group."

Dr Chaudhary observed that most of what the study described as "crashes" were simply riders dropping the bikes from a stop or very low speed, but he believes if the college rolls out its data collection technology with thousands of riders, if possible, "it's going to be very informative to the traffic safety field."

Following the third local crash, Dr Chaudhary said he reached out to a colleague at the state Department of Transportation. And while he could not speak to the investigations on any of the three Newtown crashes, he said similar crashes under the conditions and circumstances have often been tied to the cyclist traveling at an excessive speed.

"That fits with [the description] of the crashes," he said. "So it could be a case of traveling too fast for conditions on a curvy road. These were not late night crashes."

Dr Chaudhary said he and his team at Preusser Research Group spend a lot of time crunching statistics, but they often have to remind themselves that those numbers represent people.

"Having three of these crashes in Newtown is definitely a grim reminder that we're dealing with people," he said. "I'm kind of shocked that we had these three fatal crashes in town to begin with. But all three being motorcycles - I looked it up, and by this time last year there were five motorcycle fatalities in the entire state. And now we have three in town and there have been only six reported in the entire state for this year."

He said there may have been others still under investigation that have not been reported to DOT yet, but nonetheless, it still represents a significant statistic that should cause all motorcyclists to take notice.

Helmets & Visibility

Dr Chaudhary said that while two of the three local riders were wearing helmets, only about 42 percent of motorcyclists in Connecticut wear helmets versus states where helmets are required by law. Those states have near 100 percent compliance.

He also said that professional driver training, offered throughout the state, can also help riders to develop stronger defensive driving skills.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and the Connecticut State Police have joined other agencies like the Preusser Research Group in reminding those who ride about important safety considerations.

"Ultimately a motorcycle is more vulnerable because there is no protection like you have in a passenger vehicle. The only protection you have is what you put on yourself," Dr Chaudhary said. "And it's important to note that when people hear about motorcycle crashes, they may automatically assume it was the motorcycle operator's fault."

On the other hand, he said that statistically motorcyclists take more risks, they tend to drive faster than passenger vehicles. But they are less visible to drivers.

"Passenger operators don't give the same leeway to motorcycles as they do to other passenger vehicles, and that's a problem," Dr Chaudhary said. "So the burden is on the motorcyclist to be extremely defensive while driving."

To best protect oneself while riding, he said motorcyclists must wear a DOT-approved helmet, proper protective clothing, boots should cover ankles, gloves to help maintain grip, and bright-colored clothing is really important so riders are visible to other motorists.

Connecticut law requires that motorcyclists wear eye protection, so the state police urge riders to be sure to protect their eyes with a shield on a DOT-approved helmet, goggles, or shatterproof eyeglasses at all times when on a bike.

"In addition," he said, "folks should ride responsibly; don't take risks, don't drive after consuming alcohol, or impairing drugs whether prescription or otherwise."

Dr Chaudhary said that prescription drugs are becoming more of an issue as motorcyclists are becoming older, and excessive speed is one of the biggest contributors to motorcycle fatalities.

The state police also remind passenger vehicle drivers to be extra cautious on weekends when more motorcyclists are likely to take to the road. Passenger vehicle operators should provide motorcyclists adequate room to maneuver.

And as when following another passenger vehicle, the state police advise operators to leave a reasonable distance, following at least three to four seconds behind a motorcycle or any other vehicle out in front.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about 5,000 motorcycle operators and hundreds of motorcycle passengers lose their lives in accidents each year in the United States. These numbers account for about 13 percent of total traffic fatalities, even though motorcycles account for just three percent of all registered vehicles.

In addition to the fatalities, about 100,000 operators and passengers are injured each year.

Readers can access the Virginia Tech study here.

NOTE: This story was updated at 11:20 am, Monday, May 8, to correct the name of Jaclyn Ann Schulz.