Motorcyclists: ‘Stay in Control’ this Summer


The Government’s ‘Stay In Control’ campaign — developed with partners from the motorcycle industry -– encourages motorcyclists to refine their riding by taking advanced training with qualified instructors and to consider being especially vigilant when road traffic increases as the summer weather arrives.

The Minister, Stephen Hammond, has said:

Motorcyclists make up just 1% of the traffic on our roads but last year accounted for 19% of deaths. So reducing the number of bikers killed on our roads is a key priority. I am pleased that, in parallel with this initiative, we are also running a THINK BIKER campaign encouraging car drivers to take longer to look for motorcyclists.

This latest campaign urges bikers to ride defensively – this includes taking a ‘lifesaver glance’ around before manoeuvring and giving yourself time to react to potential hazards. Any message that has the potential to reduce the number of tragedies on our roads involving motorcyclists and save lives is worth hammering home.

As part of the campaign, posters, leaflets and other promotional material will be distributed to hundreds of motorcycle dealerships and retailers across the UK. The campaign will run throughout the peak riding season this spring and summer, when, historically, the number of motorcyclists killed and seriously injured on the roads sees an increase.

Much of it will be old news to experienced, year round motorcyclists but, sadly, too many people die needlessly on the roads. It seems these basics need repeating, not least the entreaty to drivers to keep motorcyclists in mind.

In the meantime, I have been enjoying the Spring weather on my weathered old KTM950 Supermoto, which is running beautifully thanks to the excellent Premier Bikes in Didcot, who have at last sorted out what was a lingering carburation problem at higher throttle openings.

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