BY JOYCE GODWIN

HERALD DEMOCRAT

About 175 motorcycles, most with two riders, showed up in August 2008 to help with the first Red Cross Placement ceremony which took place in Desert, just east of Van Alstyne, on FM 160.

It was the beginning of a movement that began in Grayson County and is spreading to other states and conceived by Mike "Kokomo" Grove of Bells to help raise awareness of motorcycle fatalities, appropriately titled Motorcycle Fatality Awareness.

Motorcycle enthusiasts across the U.S. can testify to the difficulty motorists have in seeing motorcycles on the road.

A Texas Department of Public Safety Website states there are several reasons why drivers may not see the motorcyclist; 1) motorists tend to look for other cars, not for motorcyclists; 2) the profile of a motorcycle is much smaller than the profile of larger vehicles, making an approaching motorcyclist more difficult to see. Estimating their distance and oncoming speed is also more difficult.

The failure of motorists to detect motorcycles on the road is the most frequent cause of accidents for motorcyclists in Texas. In more than half of motorcycle accidents, the driver reports he or she did not see the motorcyclist coming.

The Website also reports that almost two-thirds of these accidents are caused not by the motorcyclist but by the driver. The driver either doesn't see the motorcycle at all, or, by the time he does, it's too late to avoid a collision.

About 10 percent of motorcycle accidents are caused by drivers of vehicles that begin to enter an intersection in front of a motorcycle, often forcing the motorcyclist to overbrake, slide and fall.

"The idea behind the red cross is to let motorists know that a motorcycle fatality has occurred at the site, and, hopefully, it will impress upon them to be more aware of motorcycles sharing the road with them and they will be more careful," said Sparky Cox, a Grayson County motorcyclist who rides with the Patriot Guard and the American Legion Riders.

Cox said it was the custom of placing white crosses along the roadside to mark places where loved ones were killed that gave Grove the idea for the red crosses. He wanted to have something special to mark the places where motorcyclists were killed and also to raise awareness among drivers that motorcycles share the roadways with them.

It was a twist of irony Dec. 21 when Grove fell victim to the same type of accident he's trying to raise awareness for. A motorist said he didn't see the motorcycle and Grove on a Denison street as Grove was on his way home.

He has been recuperating since that night in a couple of Dallas hospitals after receiving serious head trauma and other broken bones. Grove's wife Kathy has been by his side, along with several other family members, since the accident.

Kathy Grove said, "My personal thoughts are, we hear about accidents involving motorcycles and cars and trucks all the time and it's usually not the cyclist's fault. The excuse heard most often for the accident is that the driver of the vehicle didn't see the motorcycle. Right now there are three guys on Mike's floor at Baylor Rehab who are there because the other vehicle didn't see them.

"Mike's effort with the motorcycle fatality marker is to make people aware of the danger and to get them to watch out for those riding motorcycles. I'm very glad that Mike didn't become one of those fatalities with a marker, but there are many, many more who haven't been so fortunate. He still has a long way to go, but we feel very grateful and very blessed."

Kathy added, "I just feel like no matter how safe you try to be, there's nothing you can do if the other guy doesn't do his part by becoming more aware."

Cox said Grove took his idea of placing red crosses to the local ABATE Chapter, which helped move it through channels. The Texas Department of Transportation agreed to a set of procedures and specifications for the crosses. "We placed the first cross in Desert, Texas in memory of Jim Cook," Cox said. "Kokomo worked diligently to get TxDOT to approve the request to add "Red" to the roadside cross placement. He finally received a letter from TxDOT that it was approved. At this point, we were now ready to move on with the project."

Mike Grove has been a tireless crusader for motorcycle advocacy as well as helping others around him in need, whether a motorcycle rider or not. He is often the first to jump in when someone is in need.

This time, it's the Grove family. With medical bills mounting and a long recuperation in front of them, friends of the Groves are planning a fundraiser Feb. 12 in Denison at Shady's Ice House, 123 W. Woodard. There will be silent auctions, raffles, a no run poker run for $5 a hand and 50/50 tickets will be sold. Pot luck meals will go for $2 a bowl or $10 for all you can eat beginning at 2 p.m. For information about the event or to make donations, call Dollie at 903-436-0157, Cox at 903-821-6836 or Thumper at 903-815-8333.