Dorset Police are working with DocBike and Dorset Road Safe Partnership to launch a campaign seeking to buck the trend in springtime biker fatalities.
In Dorset, per mile travelled, more motorcyclists will be killed or critically injured than any other road user. Nationally, approximately 10 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured every day.
Dr Ian Mew, Intensive Care Consultant and Rider of DocBike, explains:
“The problem is, the human brain is not very good at ‘seeing’ small objects travelling towards it at speed. A high proportion of motorcycle collisions on Dorset roads occur when another vehicle pulls into the path of a motorcycle which is unable to stop in time.
“Furthermore, because motorcyclists and cyclists don’t have a roll cage, seat belts or air bags, they are often seriously injured or killed when involved in a collision. We want to keep people alive on Dorset’s roads and to do that, we need all road users to be aware of why motorcyclists get knocked off their bikes.”
In an effort to prevent road deaths across the county, all road users are being encouraged to take that extra bit of time, particularly at junctions, and THINK BIKE!
The campaign which is called ‘Think Bike, Have You Been Seen’, runs from 1st April until 31st October 2021 and will see unique road signs in key locations where many motorcyclists have been injured in Dorset to date. Jack Wiltshire, Dorset Council Head of Highways, has been working with the campaign to facilitate the rolling out of signs in accident hot spots.
Following feedback from a month-long public consultation, there are two different signs – “THINK BIKE” reminding all road users to take that extra moment to look for a bike, especially at junctions, where the brain finds it difficult to see motorcyclists travelling towards them at speed. The second, “HAVE YOU BEEN SEEN?” reminding bikers they might not have been seen by other road users and that even though they have the right of way, being able to stop if a vehicle pulls out in their path might save their life.
Inspector Joe Pardey from Dorset Police added:
“Every year motorcycle fatalities peak throughout the spring and summer time. This is likely due to the better weather encouraging riders to travel more readily on two wheels. The causes of collisions are a mixture of rider error and drivers not looking properly. We know that when lockdown is released that traffic volumes will increase with collisions becoming more likely. We want everyone to respect each other whilst using our roads. We are working really hard with all our partners to make the roads a safer place to be and we urge all road users to do the same by taking that extra time to look three times and for those vulnerable road users to ensure that they have been seen.”
