Motorcycle casualty rates not JUST down to riders

I was very interested to read about Lincolnshire Police attempts to tackle the motorcycle casualty rates in the county.

As an experienced (30+ years) rider, I don't have an issue with the small minority of idiots, who get all of us a bad press, getting some long overdue attention from our boys in blue.

It makes a refreshing change to see a targeted approach replacing the "We Will Ban All Bike Nights" mentality of a few years ago.

Preventing law-abiding people from going about their lawful leisure activities based solely on their choice of a particular form of transport always did seem a little bizarre. A few big fines, points on licences and bans might be just what is needed.

You state: "Almost all collisions are avoidable and will almost certainly have a human factor built into the cause". Bikers die because of human errors; some of their own making, but also because of errors made by car drivers, lorry drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. And by highway authorities who allow our road surfaces to deteriorate to lethally bad levels before taking action. And by doctors and DVLA officials who make a case for returning driving licences to known epileptic derivers, who then have further fits and kill bikers, for instance. To suggest that the only people likely to make errors and cause motorcycle deaths are the riders themselves does all riders a great disservice.

Martyn Gaunt
Political Officer, NE Lincolnshire Motorcycle Action Group

23/04/08 - Motorcycle casualty rates not JUST down to riders - Market Rasen Today