The Department for the Environment (DOE) Minister Edwin Poots, continues the motorcycle safety message and encourages motorcyclists to bike safely at the North West 200.
At Right To Ride we agree with the constant messages of, “leave the racing to the experts and consider the consequences should you become involved in a collision” – “travelling too fast for the conditions or overtaking where it is obviously not safe to do so.”
However there are always those motorcyclists, who take no heed to road safety messages and have no conscious thought about their actions or the consequences, whether it’s a speeding ticket, a court appearance or a potentially nasty collision.
Quoting figures that motorcycles represent 3% of all licensed vehicles in Northern Ireland, motorcyclists account for 13% of all road deaths, the Minister goes on to say, “I also see car drivers and other road users putting the lives of motorcyclists at risk by pulling out at junctions or overtaking without warning. Half of all motorcyclist casualties are caused by other drivers and, with that in mind, I urge car drivers to think about motorcyclists and how their actions might put them in danger”.
Right To Ride’s, Trevor Baird says, “While most bikes having their headlights permanently switched on and riders voluntarily wearing bright or fluorescent motorcycle gear, it’s not just the case of the motorcyclists or motorcycle being hard to see, it’s also the case of other drivers not looking”.
“While the motorcycle community continues to do its best for motorcycle safety there is no similar car community to get the safety message out there for car drivers. Extra effort and awareness for motorcycles needs to be taught to trainee car drivers at the learner stage” says Right To Ride.
Ride The Wild Wind, a website blog for the Northern Ireland Biker community and beyond says, “ It’s that time of year again as Northern Ireland goes bike mad with the return of the North West 200 and you can follow all the action on the official NW 200 website.
Adding that, “Northern Ireland’s North coast will be packed with thousands of bike fans this weekend for one of the world’s greatest road races which always brings guaranteed thrills. If you are heading up there you may find useful our partner Ride It Right‘s interactive coastal route map, which was designed to get the best, and safest, ride out of the fantastic roads around the event.”
The challenge laid down by the Minister, is for, “Motorcyclists and drivers to do more to reduce the number of motorcyclist casualties on our roads.”
Over the NW200 weekend the government has heightened road safety messages to specifically target the NW200 audience.
The DOE advertisement ‘Thinking Ahead’ focuses on motorcyclist errors, to make riders aware of the dangers on the road and urges them to take care. This message features in a targeted outdoor campaign over the NW200 period. It includes all main routes and heavy penetration of routes around the North West Triangle. As with all outdoor interventions, the campaign will use ‘safe’ advertising sites, such as bus shelters and garage forecourts.
While the NW200 sees thousands of motorcycle racing enthusiasts at one of the most spectacular events in our sporting calendar, not all these enthusiasts are motorcyclists, so be careful out there: Bike Safe!
Links
Bikesafe Northern Ireland – Click Here 
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