Plymouth biker safety event looks set to become annual
A HUGE road safety day staged by bikers last month looks set to become an annual attraction.
The Plymouth branch of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) organised Plymouth On the Road in a bid to drive down the death toll among city bikers.
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Official stats revealed in The Herald earlier this year showed up Plymouth as a hotspot for tragedies involving motorcyclists.
Police figures named the city as the country’s third-worst of its size for fatal and serious injury collisions involving motorcycles.
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But 500 people flocked to Derriford for Plymouth On the Road, which included the chance for all road users of all kinds to try out a driving simulator, get tips and advice and sit at the wheel of an HGV.
Plymouth MAG’s Pete Bourner said the group was now set for talks with Plymouth City Council over expanding the event next year.
Earmarked venues include the Hoe and the Park and Ride site off Outland Road, near Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park stadium.
“We’ve got such a good response from it,” Mr Bourner said.
“The council were very impressed and they want to make it an annual event.
“We spoke to hundreds of people at the Mega Ride at the weekend, too, and safety is still a major issue.”
MAG is currently lobbying manhole cover manufacturers, as well as local authorities, on behalf of bikers stung by potholes, petrol spills and damaged drains.
Mr Bourner also welcomed the council’s crackdown on motorists who use bus lanes. From this week, drivers caught on camera risk being hit with a £60 fine.
Cyclists, bus companies and cabbies have already welcomed the move, which is initially being limited to six city routes.
But Mr Bourner said the idea would be attractive to motorcyclists, who are also entitled to use the lanes.
“Plymouth was one of the first cities in the country to allow motorcyclists into bus lanes,” he added.
“We’ve always welcomed it and it’s been proven to reduce all road users’ journey times.
“It has worked out and so it should be enforced. Any measure that can lead to safer roads has got to be a good thing.”
Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are in use in Exeter Street, Embankment Road, Tavistock Road, Saltash Road and Pemros Road, in St Budeaux.
However, they can be moved to any other bus lane in the city without warning.
Comments
by Andyals
Monday, October 08 2012, 6:56PM
“Bad driving is bad driving. Are we saying that car drivers never drive like lunatics, drink drive or drive under the influence of drugs. Don't be so naive.”
by lmmfao
Tuesday, September 25 2012, 10:51AM
“Well done to those who tried to organize the event but it didn't have the desired effect as hardly anybody turned up and those who did soon left. Your estimate of 500 attendees was overstated.
Plymouth MAG are better off leaving these events to the professionals. The ESRAD events for example (http://tinyurl.com/y2hylu7) were getting 16,000 visitors and were a splendid full day out for all the family.
We turned up for the POTR event in the afternoon and it had fizzled out and people were packing up. The website promoting it had virtually no information and was mostly an advertisement for a computer firm. (http://tinyurl.com/cvplrls).
Even the local bike dealers were absent.
Plymouth MAG are only interested in certain aspects of road safety, if it suits them, and only represent a limited band of bikers not the whole community.”
by Cyclopsboy
Thursday, August 16 2012, 12:32PM
“I may be wrong but didn't MAG start off by campaigning against crash helmets - and every picture Ive seen of Pete Bourner on a bike he's wearing jeans. Having finally got my son to wear the right gear on a bike what sort of road safety message is that giving out? It's all very well going on abut the recent spate of deaths in Plymouth but, to my knowledge, none of them were a result of potholes. What are you doing about stopping bikers riding at crazy speeds, drinking or drug taking.
I can't help noticing that all your meetings are held in a pub - are you all drinking tea?”