Insurance giant Allstate has started a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of motorcycle safety and one of their first stops is Dallas County, Texas. In 2010 alone Dallas County saw more than 600 motorcycle accidents within its borders, many of which resulted in serious injury or death.

Texas Department of Transportation said almost half of all these crashes occurred at intersections and involved a car or truck. This makes the new warnings, permanent signs being installed at Allstate’s expense, all the more important to Texas and the people who live and ride there.

May is National Motorcycle Awareness Month and a nationwide effort to focus attention on motorcycle safety has been underway in every state. With the price of gasoline rising nearly every week more and more Americans are turning to two-wheeled, more economical forms of transportation. More bikes on the road means more chances for serious, often deadly collisions.

And anything that cane be done to make those numbers go down is worth the effort.

Allstate Insurance Co. is putting up permanent signs in more than 30 cities in hopes of preventing crashes at major intersections. The company posted a sign at East Main and 14th streets in Grand Prairie.

Dallas County had almost 600 accidents involving motorcycles in 2010, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Thirty-five percent occurred at intersections.

“Motorcyclists are easily overlooked,” said Dusty Wallace, an Allstate agent in Flower Mound. “It is always a safety concern, because generally when you’re driving, you’re not thinking about a motorcycle, you’re thinking about another vehicle out there.”

Wallace, who rides motorcycles, said he constantly has to be on a lookout when he is on the road. Motorcyclists always have to think ahead and be aware of things in the road that cars run over or drivers running red lights.