Unmarked motorcycles cut deaths claim police
Death rates are falling. Could it all be down to policing?
NORTH Yorkshire Police have claimed that the use of unmarked bikes has helped has cut biker road deaths in the area by around 50%.
The police claim that it had resorted to using unmarked motorcycles following a rise in death rates, from 12 in 2008, to 16 in 2009 and 20 in 2010. So far this year, 10 bikers have died on North Yorkshire roads.
The North Yorkshire Police say they use unmarked bikes, including an S1000RR, to gather evidence of "dangerous and anti-social riding". However, they have been up against negative opinion from local motorcyclists and the local Motorcycle Action Group who have criticised the use of unmarked bikes, claiming it's entrapment.
Sgt Sean Gray said: "If you are riding safely then you have nothing to fear. It is when you are riding in a dangerous manner, speeding for example, then you have to worry about the unmarked bike coming up behind you."
Here at Visordown, what we'd like to know is: how does an unmarked police motorcycle deter you from crashing? It sounds like a flimsy excuse from North Yorks police to spend their days tooling around on a free superbike.
