ALL road users in Dorset will be encouraged to THINK BIKE! with a road safety campaign from charity DocBike running from the 1st of April to the 31st October 2021.
More motorcyclists are killed or critically injured in Dorset than any other road user, and nationally approximately 10 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured every day.
Signs will be placed in key locations in Dorset where motorcyclists have been injured, particularly at junctions in the county of Southwest England.
Road Safety campaign - Think Bike & Have You Been Seen?
There will be two different signs used following a month-long public consultation, notifying road users that they are in a ‘collision hot spot’.
The first sign will read ‘Think Bike!’ - pretty self-explanatory, but reminding road users to take that extra bit of time to look for bikers, particularly now as many riders will be coming out of a long hibernation.
A second sign reading ‘Have you been seen?’ - a reminder to bikers that they may not have been seen by other road users, even if they have the right of way. If the rider can stop before a vehicle pulls out, it could save their life.
Dr Ian Mew, Intensive Care Consultant and Rider of DocBike, explains:
“The problem is, the human brain is not very good at ‘seeing’ small objects travelling towards it at speed. A high proportion of motorcycle collisions on Dorset roads occur when another vehicle pulls into the path of a motorcycle which is unable to stop in time.
“Furthermore, because motorcyclists and cyclists do not have a roll cage, seat belts or air bags, they are often seriously injured or killed when involved in a collision. We want to keep people alive on Dorset’s roads and to do that, we need all road users to be aware of why motorcyclists get knocked off their bikes.”
DocBike will hope that the signs play their part in a safe 2021 riding season, and they will no doubt make the Dorset roads that bit safer for motorcyclists. Stay safe out there!
