Wheels in motion for ‘Operation Biker’

A year-long series of initiatives – known as Operation Biker - has been launched in a bid to reduce the increasing number of motorcyclists killed and seriously injured on Northamptonshire’s roads.

In 2003, 122 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured (KSI) on the county’s roads, compared to 90 in 2002 - a 36 per cent increase. There were 13 fatalities - nearly double the seven rider deaths in 2002.

"We are launching Operation Biker to provide a co-ordinated approach to reducing motorcycle casualties," said PC John Spencer, Northamptonshire Police. "We will be continuing with our BikeKraft initiatives and Motorcycle Casualty Reduction Forum and will also be running additional schemes, events and measures to try to reduce the number of deaths and injuries involving motorcyclists."

Motorcycle casualties in Northamptonshire centre around the 17-19 years and 30-49 years’ age groups.

The four main factors leading to collisions are excessive or inappropriate speed, negligent overtaking, loss of control and inexperience.

Speed data collected in 2003 on 10 routes known to be used by motorcyclists surveyed 5,774 motorcycles and found that 51 per cent were exceeding the speed limit. 900 motorcyclists were caught riding at between 80 and 139mph.

Operation Biker plans for 2004 include:-

• a diesel spillage campaign aimed at lorry drivers and others - as diesel spillage is a major concern to riders
  
• Dealership roadshows to raise riders’ awareness of the risk of collisions
  
• A specialist RSO responsible for motorcycling
  
• Continuation of the BikeKraft rider improvement scheme and BikeKraft experience days
  
• Ongoing engineering and education work focused at motorcyclists, guided by the Motorcycle Casualty Reduction Forum
  
• High visibility police patrol and enforcement of speed and rider behaviour – in particular on the 14 motorcycle ‘red routes’ that have been identified as particularly hazardous
  
• Ongoing collection and analysis of data from known collision sites and popular riding routes.