Motorcyclist meet ‘Hayled' a success

Members of staff from Cornwall Council Road Safety attended a regular motorcycle meet outside McDonalds in Hayle to promote the Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS) and consult with local motorcyclists about their views on further training.

Over one hundred motorcyclists congregated during the course of the evening last week, many of whom came to speak to Road Safety staff about further training opportunities. ‘See it, Report it' cards were handed out, with updated contact details for Cornwall and Devon Councils, for motorcyclists to be able to report highway defects that make the roads unsafe for bikers such as potholes, diesel spills and faulty manhole covers.

The evening was a great opportunity to promote further training, specifically the Driving Standard Agency's (DSA) national Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS), which Cornwall Council are supporting. Until now there has only been one registered instructor qualified to teach ERS in Cornwall. However Cornwall Council is now offering a limited number of subsidies to motorcycling instructors in the county to take the necessary qualifications and therefore make the course more accessible to motorcyclists in the region.

Since the launch of this subsidy scheme in Hayle, there have been enquiries from more instructors interested in taking the necessary qualifications to deliver the training and also queries from bikers too.

Jane Swift, Project Co-ordinator said: "We were delighted with the level of interest in further training that we received on the night, and also to have created links between ourselves and some of the motorcycling community. We have been building a consultation group of bikers in the county, in order to listen to their views and opinions, and following the meet at Hayle we have greatly increased the membership of the group. We hope to be able to consult with them soon with the shared aim of reducing motorcyclist collisions and casualties on our roads."

Motorcyclists are disproportionately represented in casualty figures, both nationally and locally, and are recognised as a vulnerable and high risk road user group. In Cornwall in 2008 there were 238 collisions involving motorcyclists which resulted in ten fatal, 56 serious and 143 slight casualties. Nationally, motorcyclists make up just 1% of total road traffic, but account for 20% of all Great Britain's road user deaths.

Jane Swift continues: "At the bike meet in Hayle we conducted a survey amongst the bikers and found that whilst the vast majority (93%) believe that those who have undertaken further training are safer on the roads, only 21% of the respondents had actually received further training themselves since passing their test. With this in mind we hope to work more with motorcyclists in the future and help to make further training more accessible and appealing to them."

For further information regarding the Enhanced Rider Scheme please contact

Jane Swift, Project Co-ordinator, on 0300 1234 222 or email jaswift@cornwall.gov.uk

For further information:

Driving Standard Agency's (DSA) website:

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/

Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS) website:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/RidingMotorcyclesAndMopeds/DG_4022666

News kindly provided by Cornwall Council

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