Safety campaign for bikers launches

9 Mar 2015 03:36 PM

A new campaign to boost motorbike safety has been launched to reduce the number of accidents on London's roads.

Twenty-seven motorcyclists were killed on the Capital's roads last year and there have been nine fatalities this year. A high proportion of motorbike accidents involve the rider going too fast for the road conditions or losing control, with no other vehicle involved. 

Riders are being urged to 'Think! Don't ride too fast' through a series of film clips in cinemas and on social media, which show the potentially tragic consequences of not riding at a safe speed. Collisions also happen at junctions when drivers of other vehicles fail to look properly and turn across the path of a motorcyclist.

Ben Plowden, Director of Strategy and Planning Surface Transport, said: 'Motorcyclists and scooter riders are among the most vulnerable road users and with the recent spike in fatalities it is important that action to reduce the number of casualties continues. It is vital for all road users to pay attention to their speed and surroundings and to be aware of other road users.'

The number of motorcycle riders killed or seriously injured on London's roads has fallen and, in 2013, was 36%  lower than the 2005-09 average. However there has been a subsequent increase with provisional figures for 2014 showing there were 27 fatalities compared to 22 in 2013.

Motorcyle Safety Action Plan

The campaign follows the publication of the Capital's first Motorcycle Safety Action Plan, which has already led to a number of projects including:

• Funding for the Metropolitan Police Services, to clamp down on illegal and antisocial behaviour such as speeding, careless riding and running red lights
• BikeSafe-London and ScooterSafe-London rider skill assessment days to educate riders to become safer road users
• Funding for training for TfL and borough road scheme designers

For more information, go to tfl.gov.uk/roadsafety