Greater Manchester authorities launch rider safety campaign

Road safety experts from across Greater Manchester have joined forces to hammer home a safety message with the launch of a major campaign aimed at the two-wheeled traveller.

Council officers from the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester and traffic police have teamed up to tackle the rising number of accidents involving motorbikes and mopeds.

Throughout the county motorcycles and mopeds are growing ever more popular and in the last three years sales have increased by a staggering 600 per cent. But the downside of the two-wheeled revival is that accident and injury rates across Greater Manchester have also soared, with the death rate among riders rising by 50 per cent over the same period.

So alarming are the figures that motorcycle-safety has become the number one concern for the region’s road safety officers. And they have chosen a more sedate mode of transport - the bus - to get their safety message across.

250 buses across Greater Manchester are carrying a campaign poster with the slogan: ‘Drivers - make sure you look! Riders - make sure you are seen!’

"Motorcycles and mopeds have many benefits. They are cheaper to run than cars and you can move more freely through on roads," said Wigan’s road safety manager Darren Barton, speaking on behalf of the 10 authorities. "But a motorcyclist is 50 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than a car driver when involved in a collision."

"This is why we are reminding riders to make sure they are seen by using all their lights at all times and to wear high visibility jackets and a reflective 'Sam Browne' belt.

"We are also asking drivers to use their mirrors, especially side mirrors, to look out for motorcyclists," he added.


Further information about this campaign can be obtained from Nicola Jones, Nicola.Jones@trafford.gov.uk