A man is dead and a woman is in critical condition after a motorcycle and a car collided in Surrey Saturday night -- the second serious motorcycle accident in the Lower Mainland in as many days.

RCMP were notified around 9 p.m. on Saturday of the collision, which happened at the intersection of 8th Avenue and 172nd Street.

The Mounties say a 32-year-old motorcycle driver from Langley, B.C., was thrown from the bike and declared dead at the scene.

His passenger, a 22-year-old Surrey woman, was flown to hospital in serious condition.

Police say neither speed nor alcohol appear to be factors in the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.

Saturday’s collision came less than 24 hours after another accident, this one in Coquitlam, where a motorbike rear-ended a truck, sending the motorcyclist to hospital in serious condition.

“I honestly don’t think he was going that fast,” witness Ralph Torrecampo told CTV News. “I honestly thought he was going the speed limit, but i guess he just didn't see the car because the lights here are pretty dim.”

Summer is the time of year when most motorcycles hit the road, and it’s also the most dangerous.

On average, in July and August alone, more than 180 motorcyclists are injured in Metro Vancouver each year. In that same two-month span, on average, three are killed.

Mark Milner, road safety program manager for ICBC, told CTV News most motorcycle crashes involving another vehicle happen when the car or truck in front of the motorcycle is turning left.

“It’s largely because when we’re waiting to turn left at an intersection and we’re in a car, we’re usually looking for other cars,” Milner said. “As a result, even if the motorcycle’s in our field of vision, we may not really pick up on that right away. A lot of what we see is based on what we expect to see.”

It’s also difficult to judge the speed at which a motorcycle is traveling, especially at night, when they appear as single points of light in the distance, rather than the more-distinguishable dual headlights of a car, Milner said.

The best thing drivers can do to avoid collisions involving motorcycles is to get into the habit of looking for them, Milner said.

For motorcyclists, the best thing to do is slow down, and never assume other drivers can spot them.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Vancouver’s St. John Alexander