State officials said yesterday that too many motorcyclists are getting killed and reminded them and everyone else on the roads to be more careful.

"We're very concerned about the rising number of fatalities in our district," said Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer for PennDOT's District 12, which includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

At a news conference outside a Rostraver cycle store, Mr. Ofsanik and another PennDOT safety press officer joined a Rostraver police lieutenant and a motorcycle radio show host in urging bikers to wear helmets, pay attention to the road, quit hotdogging and lay off the booze.

"Be aware of the motorist in front, behind and beside you," said Lt. John Christner, who said his department has seen an increase in motorcycle wrecks, especially on Route 51. "You must be prepared to react to any sudden movement or other vehicles, which may cause you to lose control and become involved in an accident."

Fatalities statewide have been creeping upward in recent years because more motorcyclists are out there. The number of registered motorcycles climbed to 390,000 in 2008, an increase of 30,000 from 2007. Licensed motorcyclists increased 15,000 to 816,000.

In District 11, comprising Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, there were 24 fatalities in 2008, up from 17 the year before. In District 12, there were 15 deaths, down from 21 the year before. But overall for the region, the number was 39, the highest since 41 died in 2005. Allegheny County had the most by far, with 18. Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland each had five.

David Pritt, press safety officer for District 11, said the fatality breakdown is about evenly split between cyclists who wear helmets and those who don't. In 2008, for example, there were 115 fatalities statewide for those wearing helmets compared to 114 for those without.

And for every death on the roads, hundreds of other motorcyclists are injured.

Mr. Pritt and Mr. Ofsanik encouraged everyone who rides to take a state safety course and be aware of the dangers of the road and other drivers. They also implored motorists to watch out for motorcycles, especially when changing lanes, to avoid hitting bikers hidden in blind spots.

Rocky Marks, operations manager for Hot Metal Harley-Davidson in West Mifflin and host of the weekly radio show "On the Road With Rocky," said motorcyclists must anticipate what's ahead on the road and drive more defensively.

He also said motorcyclists should never drink and drive or pull stunts on the road like the one he saw on Route 65 near the McKees Rocks Bridge two weeks ago.

While driving in his minivan with his family, a motorcyclist passed him while pulling a wheelie and then nearly dumped his bike before righting himself. Had the biker wiped out, Mr. Marks said he would have probably hit the man or crashed his van in trying to avoid the wreck.

"Please," he said, "no stunting on the roadways."