Police bid to counter rogue biker videos

MOTORCYCLISTS are being given life-saving advice to negotiate some of Yorkshire’s most notorious accident blackspots as police attempt to counter rogue internet videos encouraging bikers to speed along the roads.

North Yorkshire Police yesterday unveiled a major campaign to prevent deaths on the county’s 5,000-mile road network, which criss-crosses the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors and is a huge draw for bikers from across Britain.

Concerns have been growing over a number of videos posted on the internet showing motorcyclists speeding and riding dangerously on North Yorkshire’s roads.

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The Yorkshire Post revealed last year that one biker was caught travelling at 165mph on the A19 near Selby, while other motorcyclists are often reaching speeds of up to 100mph on rural routes in the Dales and the North York Moors.

The routes with the five worst accident rates over the last six years have now been identified by police and films showing how to safely negotiate two of them have been posted on internet sites including YouTube.

The two routes shown in the safety videos are the B1222 from Sherburn in Elmet to Stillingfleet and the B1257 between Helmsley to Stokesley.

Police confirmed the three other notorious accident blackspots - the A59 from Skipton to Harrogate, the A170 between Thirsk and Scarborough and the A65 from Ingleton to Skipton - could also be filmed in future for the safety videos.

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The clips are filmed from a motorcyclist’s viewpoint and include a voice-over informing viewers where accidents have happened and where some of the hazards are located.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Iain Spittal, who is responsible for operational policing, admitted the move is an attempt to counter the problem of internet videos filmed by rogue bikers. He stressed that while previous road safety campaigns had focused heavily on enforcement, the latest initiative is slanted towards educating motorcyclists about the dangers of the roads.

He said: “North Yorkshire has some wonderful roads, and we do see people coming here from across the country to ride them. As a police force, we do not want to dissuade people from doing this - we just want to make sure the motorcyclists go home in the same condition as they arrived.

“We are focusing the campaign on trying to educate bikers, but unfortunately there will always be some who ignore the advice and warnings and enforcement measures are the only way to get through to these people.”

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This year’s 95 Alive road safety campaign to target motorcyclists comes after the number of fatalities involving bikers fell in 2011.

The number of fatalities rose from 12 in 2008 to 14 in 2009, and then to 19 deaths in 2010. There was a significant reduction last year, when nine bikers were killed and 82 seriously injured.

Those bikers most likely to be involved in a crash are men aged between 30 and 59, who ride high-powered machines over 500cc. About three quarters of fatalities are blamed on rider error.

Thousands of bikers are expected to descend on North Yorkshire over the Easter weekend, which is traditionally seen as the start of the annual motorcycling season.

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North Yorkshire Police announced last April that it was teaming up with seven other forces in the North of England in the first formal agreement of its kind to prevent the number of fatal bike crashes increasing. The agreement to share resources and intelligence to target rogue bikers is continuing during 2012.

Meanwhile, police have accused motorcyclists of “bullying” drivers in the East Riding. Humberside Police captured footage of motorcyclists making “inappropriate gestures” to motorists who had not moved out of the way of bikers on the A614 on Sunday.