Riding a motorcycle is freedom.

“It’s amazing, the way you feel,” said Estevan Carranza, junior in LAS. “So connected to the road.”

“For me, it’s an adrenaline rush,” said Elizabeth Hussey, sophomore in Education. “You just have this sense of freedom and openness.”

However, at times this freedom may come at a cost. Over the past five months, 10 people have died in local motorcycle accidents.

But despite these grizzly numbers, motorcycle accidents have not been an issue on campus this year, said Steve Mechling, motorcycle patrol officer for the University Police Department.

“All of the accidents have been on outer country roads,” he said.

Mechling also added that although the number of fatalities due to motorcycle accidents has been high this year, there have not been any more accidents than usual.

Yet, with increased gasoline prices and the price of parking a car on campus, he said more students are turning to alternative vehicles for their transportation needs.

“There’s been a big increase in (small engine) scooters,” he said.

Hussey has also noticed this trend. She said people have been looking to scooters and motorcycles as an economical way to get from place to place. Motorcycles also get twice as many or more miles per gallon compared to a car, she said.

Carranza also noted the economics of motorcycles.

“It costs about eight dollars to fill up my tank,” Carranza said. “That lasts a whole week driving for about an hour every day.”

Still, the increased fuel economy of motorcycles comes at the cost of safety.

“With a bike, you don’t have any protective cage around you,” Hussey said. “You’re a lot more open and vulnerable.”

And this vulnerability may only increase when it comes to scooters. With small scooters, 50 cubic centimeter engines or less, a rider is only required to be licensed to drive a car.

This can create safety issues, Mechling said, because they do not need a special license to drive their scooters. This way, people do not always go through the rules of the road for a two-wheeled vehicle.

Although Hussey said that may of the traditional rules of the road apply to motorcycles, riders are recommended to use hand signals while turning. This is because bike turn signals, and riders, are much less visible compared to cars on the road, she said.

“Always assume they don’t see you and that they don’t know the rules of the road as far as motorcycles go,” Mechling said. “When driving a motorcycle you have to constantly be thinking of what can hit you. You can’t be distracted.”

To increase safety, Carranza recommended that people take the Motorcycle Rider Program based at the University.

Still, the best way to stay safe on a two-wheel vehicle is to know how to handle your machine and to wear the proper equipment, such as a helmet, sturdy jacket, boots, gloves and protective eye wear, Mechling said.

“Driving is a serious business,” he said. “Not many people think about biting the road when they leave the house.”