Somerset campaign aiming to get drivers to think who is the biker beneath the helmet
SOMERSET are to launch a local ‘Think Bike, Think Biker’ road safety campaign to remove the anonymity behind motorcyclists.
The ‘Professionals’ campaign will feature riders from the area and highlight the work that each do for the local community, including a fire-fighter, doctor and a nurse.
The hope for the campaign is based on the idea that drivers will be more aware of motorcyclists if they can associate with a real person under the helmet. The local initiative follows on from a higher than average number of collisions involving bikers on Somerset roads in recent years.
Head of Road Safety for Somerset, Terry Beale, explains the basis for the campaign; “Research for the Department for Transport has shown that road users who personally know bikers – as friends, relatives, or work colleagues for example, are much more likely to be respectful and watching out for motorcyclists in general.
“We want to remove the anonymity of motorcyclists and to try and reduce the number of collisions in which they are involved. ‘Sorry Mate, I didn’t see you’, isn’t an excuse when you put someone else in danger; nor is ‘Sorry Mate, I didn’t know you.’”
The campaign will follow on from the televised 'Think Bike, Think Biker' advertising campaign and begins on March 26th, running on the back of Somerset buses for four-weeks.
