Horry County police stress safety on the roads during Myrtle Beach Bike Week

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — As the 84th annual Myrtle Beach Bike Week motors on and thousands of motorcyclists from across the country converge on the Grand Strand for this year’s spring rally, Horry County police want to keep everyone safe on the roads.

Accidents happen for many reasons, according to HCPD Sgt. Larry Graham. Riders may not be on their A-game because they’re tired after traveling long distances to get to the Grand Strand, or they might not be familiar with the local roads.

There are also new riders on the roads who lack experience on their bikes, Graham said.

“Ninety-nine percent of them probably know what they’re doing driving,” Graham said. “The 1% are probably brand new riders that don’t know how to ride a bike, and they get out there and try to ride like they know what they’re doing and most of them don’t.”

Regardless, everyone — bikers, drivers and pedestrians alike — needs to remain alert out on the roads, Graham said.

“Switching lanes improperly, just moving from, if it’s a three-lane road, they’ve switched from the far righthand lane all the way to the left lane and just right across in front of traffic,” Graham said. “A lot of people not wearing helmets, driving with flip-flops on. You don’t need to drive with flip-flops on. You need to drive with safety gear on.”

HCPD has extra officers on the roads throughout the week. Bike Week officially runs through Sunday.