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New bid to cut bikers' deaths(Harrogate Advertiser Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)A MAJOR new road safety campaign was launched on Monday encouraging drivers to "take longer to look for bikes". The television and radio advertising campaign was launched by the Government to target car drivers, while a poster campaign was also launched to encourage riders to make themselves clearly visible to car drivers. Announcing the campaign, Stephen Ladyman, Road Safety Minister, said: "A quick glance is not long enough to check if a motorcycle is approaching. Drivers need to take an extra second or two to look out for bikers. It really can be a lifesaver. "I enjoy biking, but I worry about not being seen. At the same time bikers have a responsibility to look after themselves and make themselves as visible as possible to drivers." Official figures show that in 2004, 67 motorcyclists were killed and 621 seriously injured in the Yorkshire and Humber region. Nationwide, an estimated 1,500 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured every year when drivers look but fail to see them. Motorcycle casualties fell in 2004 but bikers still account for 17 per cent of road fatalities, despite making up only one per cent of vehicle traffic. Regional Road Safety Officer for Yorkshire and the Humber, Phil Jones said: "Although the latest national figures suggest that there has been a drop in the number of biker casualties in 2004, bikers still account for a high number of fatalities on Britain's roads. "Both drivers and riders have a responsibility to take steps towards reducing collisions. In busy traffic, it's easy for drivers to fail to spot motorcyclists so, drivers need to look and look again for bikers, especially when pulling out at a junction. "It's only by taking longer to look that we can hope to bring biker casualties right down - it could mean the difference between life and death." Department for Transport research shows the most common cause of motorcycle crashes are "right of way violations" where, typically, one vehicle fails to give way to another at a junction. In nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of these incidents where the driver is at fault, the motorcyclist would have been visible. The Government's new awareness campaign comes on top of an initiative launched by North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire County Council to cut motorbike deaths. The police and county council campaign was launched after a succession of motor-cycling deaths in recent years. By 2003 the death toll of motorcyclists in North Yorkshire had climbed to 28 but fell back to 18 in 2004 after the police and county council's safety campaign was launched. |