The Tacoma-Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force campaign will target risk-taking motorcycle riders who endanger themselves and other drivers. The patrols begin Thursday and runs through Sept. 30.

Pierce County has averaged nine motorcycle fatalities per year over the last five years and the number spiked to 11 in 2008. “We have been able to reduce automobile fatalities in the county significantly over the past five years, but motorcycle riders are overrepresented in these fatalities,” said Mike Mitchell, chief of the Bonney Lake Police Department and chairman of the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force.”

One suspected reason for the increase in fatalities is motorcycles are becoming more popular: the number of registered motorcycles in Pierce County has increased by nearly 57 percent during the past five years. In addition, motorcycle engines are getting bigger and more powerful, and there are concerns that new or inexperienced riders are not sufficiently ready to handle a larger bike.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently showed that some of these high-speed motorcycles deliver more horsepower per pound than a typical NASCAR race car.

Officers kicking off the patrol Thursday will be looking for speeding riders as well as those who are impaired by alcohol and drugs. Data gathered by the task force showed that alcohol was involved in fatal motorcycle collisions more frequently than with other types of vehicles.

Some of the patrols will utilize Washington State Patrol aircraft so the motorcyclists traveling at high speed can be safely apprehended with the aid of monitoring from above.

Additionally, a DUI enforcement unit, along with officers specially trained to recognize and identify drug impairment, will work with the motorcycle enforcement team.