County Road 40 south of Carver is an idyllic country road. Heading through Dahlgren and San Francisco townships, it is dotted with picturesque farm houses and fields filled with rows of corn and soy beans.

As it edges closer to the Minnesota River near Highway 25 and Belle Plaine, farm fields give way to rich oak savanna and a winding road that seems to beckon to drivers and riders alike.

“It’s a pretty area,” said Carver County Chief Deputy Bob VanDenBroeke. “And an enjoyable ride.”

It’s also the site of several serious motorcycle accidents in the last year and a half.

Most recently, in late August, Scott Tuma, 28, of Montgomery was taken to the hospital after his black Suzuki hit gravel causing him to lose control of the bike and hit the guardrail just a quarter mile east of the County Road 40/Highway 25 intersection, according to VanDenBroeke. Fortunately, Tuma survived. He was one of the lucky ones.

Accidents near this particular intersection are no new phenomenon. In 2005, Carver County received a grant to conduct a road safety audit that allowed officials to look more carefully at the area near the intersection. The audit followed a history of 12 personal injury crashes in a five-year span.

According to Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) data, of those 12 crashes, more than half involved motorcycles.

“My perception is that it is a higher volume (of accidents) than other roads,” said VanDenBroeke, noting that he had not done any statistical studies on the roadway.

But VanDenBroeke, a biker himself, understands the allure of riding a motorcycle along that particular piece of road.

“There’s a real draw there,” he said. “You feel you’re one with the machine. You drive with your whole body - it’s not so with a car. That’s part of the joy of it.”

Roster of deaths

The problem comes when people “overestimate their abilities,” VanDenBroeke said.

Pat Hahn with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) noted that the four most common factors in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes are “speed, inattention/distraction, inexperience, and impaired riding – all factors within control of the rider.” Those factors may have played a part in some of the accidents County Road 40 has experienced recently.

Among those killed in motorcycle crashes on that road in the past 16 months was Justin Schroepfer, 29, of Minneapolis.

Schroepfer was killed after his motorcycle left the roadway and crashed in June 2007, a quarter mile east of the intersection of County Road 40 and Highway 25.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol’s report, Schroepfer was leading a group of motorcyclists on a Sunday afternoon when they approached a curve heading into a straightaway. “He took off from the rest of the group,” VanDenBroeke read from the report.

Minnesota State Patrol deputies reconstructing the crash estimated that Schroepfer was traveling 81 to 99 mph when his bike left the road, ejecting him from the machine and thrusting him into a road sign. “Their conclusion was that he was operating over the (55 mph) speed limit and carelessly,” said VanDenBroeke.

William Southworth, 64, of Montgomery died last October when his bike collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of County Road 40 and Highway 25.

In an interview with Southworth conducted by the State Patrol prior to his death, he told officers that he fell behind the group of motorcyclists he was riding with. In an attempt to catch up, Southworth didn’t stop at the stop sign for east-west traffic on County Road 40, VanDenBroeke said. When he entered the intersection, he struck the truck.

Alcohol was also detected in Southworth’s system, although with a blood alcohol level of .05, as reported by the Minnesota State Patrol, it wasn't over the .08 legal limit to drive.

According to the Department of Public Safety, state law requires that drivers who die in traffic crashes be tested for their blood alcohol level. In 2007, 35 percent of motorcycle drivers tested were found to have alcohol in their systems.

“Almost one-third (29 percent) tested at .08 (the legal limit) or greater,” a DPS report on motor vehicle crashes stated.

This August, Annie Martin, 52, of Hopkins, was killed when she was tossed from her motorcycle after driving it over the center line and into a guard rail, less than a mile east of the County Road 40/Highway 25 intersection.

A witness to the accident told officers that she didn’t think the motorcyclist was going too fast. However, her blood alcohol level tested above the legal limit, VanDenBroeke said.

Making improvements

How much is the road itself to blame in these motorcycle accidents?

Hahn is familiar with the road in question.

“I know (from my own experience) that there is one sharp curve in particular on that road that can sneak up on you if you’re not paying 100 percent attention,” he wrote in an e-mail. “It might benefit from some improved signage.”

In a 2005/06 County Road 40 safety study near the intersection of Highway 25, several recommendations were made to improve the roadway and reduce the number of crashes.

Highest on the list of recommendations was a review of advisory speeds. Carver County Engineer Roger Gustafson said the county’s Public Works Department took a look at the recommended speeds. Although signs for southbound traffic already advised speeds of no more than 35 mph on the road’s curves, additional signs were added for northbound traffic.

Public works will continue to periodically review the speed advisories, Gustafson said.

Other improvements to the road include upgraded guardrails, regular checks of the road for loose gravel, and repaved, wider shoulders along the road’s curves.

Gustafson said that “there are two sides to the story” though and indicated that his department can only do so much to the roadway. Riders have to pay attention to what they’re doing when they are on the road.

Hahn’s office runs a motorcycle safety project in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents each year. He said in general, rural roads such as County Road 40 see the most fatalities.

“Our policy is that drivers have a ‘false sense of security’ and think because they’re away from the city and traffic, that the roads are safer in rural areas,” he wrote. “Not so – there’s less run out room, visibility is not as great (curves, trees, no streetlights), sharp curves demand more attention and skill, and the prevalence of wild animals can make it a riskier place to ride and drive.”

Hahn recommends that motorcyclists take one of the many rider training courses offered around the metro. He also advises motorcyclists to wear protective gear, make themselves visible to other drivers and avoid drinking alcohol and driving.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer