The state Department of Transportation says Sturgis rally traffic is down by about 4 percent from last year.
Officials expect 250,000 rally attendees, which is half of a normal year. So far, about 161,000 vehicles visited Sturgis in the first three days of the rally.
Captain Jason Ketterling is with the South Dakota Highway Patrol. He says this year’s rally looks a lot like last year’s.
Ketterling says there have been more accidents so far. Reports show twenty motorcycle accidents in the first few days of the rally - that’s up from 12 last year.
“I think one of the notable things is we have had more injury crashes this year than last year at this point,” Ketterling says. “Obviously, we’re only three days into it at this point. We expect things to relatively stay about the same. Definitely, plenty of people around Sturgis area right now.”
Ketterling says more traffic on the narrow Black Hills roads will usually increase the accident rate.
The state is reporting zero fatalities so far.
Some people at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have traveled here from states with public health restrictions to limit transmission of the coronavirus. South Dakota has no restrictions - even during the rally.
One political scientist says this year, the Sturgis rally highlights the intersection of public health and personal freedoms.
Jon Shaff is a political science professor with Northern State University. He says the rally represents part of the American spirit.
“Barring certain circumstances—COVID age might be one of those circumstances—people should be left alone to live their lives as they see free,” Schaff says. “So, throughout US history, there’s been this resistance to being told what to do.”
Schaff says the intersection of public health concerns and personal freedoms, represent fundamental notions that are ripe for debate.
“Because both sides have legitimate concerns. We would have to negotiate those out and compromise and find some kind of conciliation of how can we balance these two very important goods?” Schaff adds. “Then, what tends to happen is our rhetoric has become partisan and overheated and muddied what should be a very interesting and fruitful discussion.”
Officials expect about 250,000 people to attend the Sturgis rally - that’s about half of last year’s total.
