The Hereford Times

Spotlight falls on motorbike safety

11:44am Thursday 3rd April 2008

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to try to improve motorcyclists' safety.

The Safer Roads Partnership (SRP) is aiming to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed or injured on the county's roads by increasing skills and improving education.

According to figures issued by the SRP last year, motorcycles nationally represented 1% of road traffic but accounted for 18% of all fatalities.

And over the past three years, there have been more than 200 collisions in the county involving motorcycles, with the number of fatalities representing around 20% of all road deaths in Herefordshire.

To combat this, roadside posters are being put up along key motorcycle routes throughout Herefordshire and neighbouring counties, to highlight places where both motorcyclists and drivers need to take more care.

These include the A44 through Herefordshire into Powys.

As part of the campaign, SRP will also be offering free RideCheck rider assessment sessions through the Institute of Advanced Motorists to motorcyclists living in Herefordshire.

RideCheck is a short assessment aimed at anyone interested in safer motorbike riding. It takes about an hour and is run by a local Institute of Advanced Motorists group (IAM) and is a precursor to them doing the advanced motorcycle test.

The course will highlight the areas motorcyclists need to improve and anyone interested in doing it can find more information at iam.org.uk RideCheck participants can also become an associate of the IAM for a period of 12 months, which entitles members to special offers.

Sgt John Roberts, of West Mercia police, said rural areas attracted lots of leisure motorcyclists using powerful bikes and many collisions were caused by the riders' lack of skill and riding at excessive speeds.

"We welcome the IAM initiative, which seeks to improve riders' skills and awareness and encourage them to take further training to reduce the risks of collisions," he said.

"There also remains a minority of reckless motorcyclists who continue to endanger their own and others' lives by riding in an anti-social and inappropriate manner on our roads.

"We will be using marked and unmarked cars and motorcycles to target this behaviour and bring prosecutions where necessary, as well as focusing on drivers of other vehicles who cause danger for motorcyclists."

Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for Highways and Transportation on Herefordshire Council, said: "Both I and my son have been bikers' in the past and I appreciate how vulnerable motorcyclists can be on today's roads."