Officials offer safety tips for Thunder Beach Fall Rally

PANAMA CITYBEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The Thunder Beach Fall Rally is back and people in Panama City Beach are dealing with tons of traffic.

Thousands of bikers, vendors and enthusiasts from all around the world are in town for what event coordinators call the “most biker friendly free rally in the United States.”

With all the visitors comes even more movement on the road and an even higher chance of a dangerous situation. That’s why the Panama City Beach Police Department is offering tips to keep everyone safe on the road.

Corporal Derick Poppel Reiter says the most important thing for bikers is to wear a helmet.

“Most accidents that cause serious bodily injury is caused because people were not wearing their helmet. Biggest preventative measure is gloves, helmet and then for vehicles checking twice making sure you’re using your blinkers,” Reiter said.

Douglas Asermely is the owner of Sick Boy. He traveled from North Dakota for the bike rally. He says a good way to stay safe is to practice defensive driving.

“So, you stay back a little bit. You pay attention,” said Asermely. “If you see a car swerving or you know they’re on their phone at the red light, you have to avoid them and look at everybody else not just yourself.”

Officials have set up cones near the event to give drivers easy access to major roadways.

Additional signage has been implemented and patrol presence has been increased in busy areas.

Copyright 2022 WJHG. All rights reserved.