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Bikers help cut KSIs

Road safety professionals in Northamptonshire are partly attributing a reduction in motorcyclist deaths and serious injuries to low-cost safety measures suggested by bikers themselves (Surveyor, 24 Nov).

Between April and September 2005, 43 motorcyclists were seriously injured and three killed - 23% down on the same period last year and almost 43% lower than in summer 2003.

Casualties on 20 well-used motorcycle 'red routes' have fallen by 56% since the county's casualty reduction partnership began targeting them for education, engineering and enforcement measures.

Improvements have extended to re-engineered bends and coloured surfacing, while collapsible chevron signs have been installed, where possible, to minimise collision injuries. Around £1.5m in casualty reduction and maintenance funding has been spent on improvements specifically for motorcyclists over the past three years.

But most changes have been modest, often stemming from talks with bikers and groups such as British Motorcyclists Federation and the Motorcycle Action Group.

Members are invited to ride problem routes, armed with the accident history, and come up with suggestions and solutions. "The unique feature in Northamptonshire is that engineering has been informed and guided by road-users themselves," said the council's casualty reduction manager James Butlin.

Some improvements identified in this way have been low-cost maintenance measures, such as bolder hedgerow cutting to open up sight lines at junctions, and regular summer sweeping to avoid potentially hazardous gravel build-ups.

The county's road safety officer for motorcycling, Tony Lockhart , spends most summer weekends visiting motorcycle shops to chat informally to bikers about safety issues, while eliciting their ideas for improvements.

For further information visit The Motorcycle Casualty Reduction Forum at http://www.northants.police.uk Or contact James Butlin on 01604 654303, or jbutlin@northamptonshire.gov.uk