Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has joined the Dundrod and District Motorcycle Club to appeal to motorcyclists to take care on the roads on the eve of the Ulster Grand Prix.
He said, “Those with a keen interest in road racing will no doubt get a great thrill out of seeing the top riders competing at high speeds. However, they need to be aware there is a big difference between racing behaviour on the circuit and everyday riding behaviour on the road.”
The Minister made the appeal as road collisions have claimed more lives here in recent days, with motorcyclist deaths now at 10 this year.
Clerk of the Course at the Metzeler Ulster Grand Prix Noel Johnston concluded, “I echo the Minister’s comments and can’t stress enough how important it is to keep the race in its place.
“Please keep your wits about you as you travel to and from the circuit, and indeed at any time you’re riding a motorbike. Above all, resist the temptation to break the speed limit or take any unnecessary risks, the high number of road deaths this year tell us that it’s just not worth it.”
Minister Durkan added, “Motorcyclists – think ahead and be aware of the danger around every corner and every turn.
“Drivers – be bike aware. Take another look for motorcyclists and remember that underneath the helmet is someone’s father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, or best friend.”
Good advice for riders and drivers including, resisting the temptation to break the speed limit and to keep the race in its place around the Ulster Grand Prix, billed as the, “World’s Fastest Road Race.”
Statements Of Fact
However – as an aside – the DOE seems to have an infatuation with speed, which can be seen in the onward links in the article.
In The ‘Share The Road To Zero’ campaign the DOE states that, “Excessive speed is the single biggest killer of motorcyclists.”
Or is it??
Unfortunately on the face of messages like this which are easily generated headlines for the general public to understand do not reflect the complicate fact-finding behind collisions that is required.
Statements like this that appear to be the focus in solving road safety issues for motorcyclists, do not help and they need to be supported with the background facts and if challenged those facts produced.
Therefore we challenge the DOE to come up with the facts.
A good place to start would be with the fatalities that have occurred this year and with a deeper look at seriously injured and slightly injured casualties.
As the DOE states in the article, ten motorcyclists have lost their lives in fatal collisions to date (11th August 2014) – in total in 2013 there were 10 motorcyclist fatalities.
This year two motorcyclists were killed in collisions with tractors – Six were killed in collisions with cars – two with no other vehicle involved.
(Three of the fatalities happened on a Saturday – One on a Friday – Two on a Monday – Two on a Tuesday – One on A Wednesday (collision occurred on a Wednesday rider died on Friday two days later)the youngest rider was 25 and the oldest rider was 68 – times of the fatalities range from early morning (8am – 11am) – Lunch time – Early Afternoon – Late Afternoon (12 noon – 3.20pm)—Evening (After 7pm – 9pm)) – sourced via news reports.
However, so far, there is no evidence that excessive speeding was the primary factor in these fatalities, in fact there is no evidence within the Road Safety sphere of any causation of these tragic deaths or in relation to those collisions in which motorcyclists were seriously or slightly injured.
From the Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality report the proportion of motorcyclists fatality injured due to speed was 10%.
We do not need safety campaigns that try to fit a square peg into a round hole, in an attempt to placate and appeal to the unwashed masses of television viewers and social media users.
The PSNI provide detailed statistics of collision causation, thus for the purpose of finding solutions to prevent and reduce road fatalities, we (the road safety community) need to offer advice and information that is both intelligent and instructive.
Original Source – Share The Road To Zero – from DOE – supported by PSNI – Click Here
Information & Links
Think Ahead – Click Here
Take another look for motorcyclists – Click Here
BikeSafe in Northern Ireland – Click Here
Full details on the UGP Bike week 11th – 16th August 2014 – www.ulstergrandprix.net
Police Recorded Injury Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties Northern Ireland Detailed Trends Report 2013 – pdf – Click Here
A Road Safety Emergency – Right To Ride – Click Here
NI Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012 – Right To Ride – Click Here
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