Bikers rally for a safer Texas

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Safety. That was on the minds of hundreds of bikers Monday at the Capitol.

The rally involved several motorcycle organizations, including: Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, Confederation of Clubs U.S. Defenders, Confederation of Clubs & Independents , ABATE and Coalition of Independent Riders or COIR .

Two members of the Confederation of Clubs U.S. Defenders talked about improving motorcycle awareness through the youth.

Scooter the Motorcycle Monkey is part of a new campaign by the U.S. Defenders to remind youngsters about motorcycles on the road.

The idea is, children will see a motorcycle then remind their parents the road is being shared and to take caution when driving.

Scooter also reminds children and adults not to text and drive.

Others at the Capitol had ideas regarding the congestion on Interstate 35, mentioning re-routing semi-trucks to toll roads to ease congestion on the busy thoroughfare.

The cyclists were there to push for two proposals -- one called the Crash Prevention Act and the other called Texas Liberty Preservation Act -- the lawmakers' consideration this session.

These will help considering motorcycle deaths in the state are actually up.

According to a report released by AAA, motorcycle fatalities went up to 374 in 2011. That's up 51 deaths from the previous year.