Bikers should be seen and heard says road safety t
Launch of major consultation to improve safety
He's getting himself seen and heard
"GET yourself heard" is the message Devon County Council is giving to motorcyclists who regularly use the county's road.
This summer marks the launch of a major consultation for bikers, allowing them to comment on the various issues that affect their safety and how they feel it can be improved.
The campaign will be promoted using a humorous pro-bike video, which will be circulated through an email campaign and displayed via websites, such as YouTube. It's part of Devon County Council Road Safety Team's ongoing motorcycle safety campaign, 'Bringing Bikers Out of the Blindspot'.
The Blindspot scheme was launched in 2004 to tackle issues that bikers felt posed the greatest risk.
Councillor Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: "It's incredibly important that motorcyclists take this opportunity to have their say on Devon's roads. The motorcycle safety campaign has already put in place many services for improving their safety from the last survey three years ago. Now we need the help of the biking community again."
Motorcyclists are seen as one of the most vulnerable road users and improving their safety is crucial. Despite only making up only 1% of all traffic, they historically account for up to a third of all fatal crashes in the county. However, 2006 saw the number of riders killed on Devon's road fall to one of the lowest in recent record with a total of seven.
The consultation is available in paper form by emailing bikers@devon.gov.uk, but riders are being encouraged to give their views online at www.devon.gov.uk/bikers.
