Sane ways to make riding safer

1 – Updated training for new riders: Training for new riders should incorporate more relevant skills such as overtaking lorries and cars and bike handling skills like cornering. These are all areas in which many motorcycle accidents occur.

2 – Improved Advanced Rider Training: We’re not asking to raise the standard of the best advanced training that already exists – but we do want to see ALL advanced rider training brought up to the highest standards.

3 – Incentives for advanced training: We want advanced training to become more attractive. More incentives, including insurance discounts on completion of a course, should be actively encouraged.

4 – Manufacturers to provide free advanced training:

Honda did it in the past with the MAC training scheme. We’re calling for a day’s free advanced instruction for anyone buying a new bike with a capacity greater than 600cc.

5 – Less penalty points and fines: more offers of training:

Fines and penalty points do nothing but punish offenders. Even the prison service tries to rehabilitate. So why aren’t there more offers of rider education for speeding motorcyclists rather than simple punishments? It’s time for the courts to think ahead.

6 – More action to make roads safer: It is a common complaint among bikers that the state of Britain’s roads cause many biking accidents. It’s common, because it’s true. Action should be taken to fill in potholes, restore poor road surfaces and eliminate diesel spills.

7 – Changes to the car test to improve bike awareness: Car drivers remain responsible for a huge percentage of motorcycling accidents. The car driving test has been updated recently to include more hazard perception but MCN would like to see even more emphasis placed on being aware of bikers. More aware drivers equals less accidents.

8 – More cops, fewer cameras: Yes, that’s right, we want more traffic cops out there catching reckless, incompetent and drunken drivers. A speed camera will never spot a bad driver.

MCN says: These changes aren’t rocket science. They make perfectly reasonable sense. The challenge to the Government is to act perfectly reasonably instead of making some knee-jerk reaction to a small rise in total fatalities.

As motorcyclists, we’re all concerned about the safety of riders – genuinely concerned because it’s our safety we’re talking about. So please, politicians, listen to us if you want to make a real difference rather than hog the headlines.

Click the link on the right to down load our petition. Send us your thoughts to mcn.online@emap.com with ‘Back off Biking’ in the subject line or post them on the News discussion board.