Anti-biker hate escalates as 'BIKER DIE' death threats appear on Germany's favourite biking roads
Police in Germany are investigating after explicit death threats were painted onto popular motorcycle roads, the latest in a worrying string of anti-rider incidents across Europe.
For years, Visordown has reported on a worrying pattern of anti-motorcycle attacks across Europe, from oil deliberately poured onto popular riding roads to barbed wire strung across off-road trails. Now, police in Germany are investigating after explicit death threats aimed at bikers were painted directly onto some of the country's best-known motorcycle routes.
The incidents took place over the final weekend of July on roads in the Rems-Murr and Esslingen districts, east of Stuttgart. According to Aalen Police Headquarters, anti-motorcycle slogans were discovered at nine separate locations, with the messages painted across the carriageway, many of them in bends favoured by riders.
The slogans included "BIKER STIRB" ("Biker Die"), "EIN BIKERSCHWEIN WENIGER" ("One Less Biker Pig") and "TOD DEN MOTORRADFAHRERN" ("Death to Motorcyclists").
In an official statement, police confirmed that "slogans directed against motorcyclists were painted onto the roadway at several locations in the Rems-Murr district and at two locations in the Esslingen district." The affected roads include the L1151 between Schorndorf and Schlichten, the L1147 between Schorndorf and Oberberken, the L1150 between Hohengehren and Winterbach, as well as several roads around Weinstadt, Baltmannsweiler and Esslingen, all routes well known among local riders.
Early reports suggested an oil-based substance may also have been used, raising fears that the graffiti had been combined with an attempt to create a deadly trap for motorcyclists. However, police have since ruled that out, stating: "Fortunately, no traces of oil or anything similar could be found." Investigators believe the freshly applied paint itself may have posed a temporary hazard, although no crashes or injuries have been linked to the incidents.
Even without the presence of oil, the case is being treated as a serious offence. Police have established a dedicated investigation team and are investigating the incidents as dangerous interference with road traffic, while appealing for witnesses who travelled the affected roads over the weekend.
The case is the latest in a series of anti-biker incidents across Europe. Earlier this year, suspected oil traps were discovered on roads near Germany's Lake Constance before anyone was injured, while the person responsible for a series of deliberate oil spills in the Allgäu region, one of which claimed the life of motorcyclist Josef Deniffel in 2011, has never been identified.
The UK has also seen similar incidents. Visordown has previously reported on barbed wire deliberately stretched across popular green lanes and trails, as well as oil being poured across well-used motorcycle routes, prompting repeated warnings from police about attempts to target riders.
Whether it's wire across a trail, oil in a corner or death threats painted across the tarmac, the message behind each incident is much the same. While anti-motorcycle sentiment from some residents isn't new, seeing it escalate from complaints about noisy bikes to explicit calls for riders to die marks a deeply worrying trend, and one that police across Europe appear to be taking increasingly seriously.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
