Warning for WSB fans

Police are claiming they have “compelling evidence” of numbers of riders using their county’s roads “as a race track”.

And they’ve put out a press release raising the alarm – despite a 39 per cent drop in motorcyclists deaths on their roads.

Northants police are also warning they’ll have speed cameras out in force for next weekend’s Silverstone WSB round (June 13, 2004).

The force says they surveyed the speeds of over 15,000 riders on “the county’s most hazardous motorcycle Red Routes and motorcycle leisure routes” on 170 days between 9 June 2003 up to and including last Thursday (June 3, 2004) and found that 60 per cent of riders were exceeding the speed limit. They go on to say that 23 per cent were doign over 80mph with one detected at 139mph.

They have not offered comparable figures for car drivers or any other road user group. Neither do they reveal any cases of riders racing on the roads.

Senior Collision Investigator for Northamptonshire Police, PC John Spencer, who is coordinating Operation Biker, said: “There is compelling evidence that shows that a significant number of riders are using our roads as a racetrack.

“Whilst we are doing all we can to help improve safety for riders through Operation Biker, many bikers seem to be throwing it back in our faces by riding at excessive speeds and putting their lives and the lives of other road users at risk.”

“As well as the wide range of engineering and education initiatives we are running, motorcyclists need to be warned that we will be carrying out speed enforcement on the 14 motorcycle Red Routes in the county and also on the other motorcycle leisure routes where riders are putting themselves in real danger.

“In the interests of everyone’s safety, the county’s Safety Camera team will be carrying out speed enforcement on the roads leading to the Silverstone Circuit next weekend (June 11-13), when the World Superbikes event is set to take place there.”

PC Spencer added: “We are also stressing the importance of training or refresher courses for those riders who may not have ridden for a number of months over the winter and who are now getting onto powerful machines. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t taken part in our BikeKraft rider improvement scheme to seriously consider signing up.

“Finally, the clothing that bikers wear can mean the difference between life and death if there is a collision. It is worth investing in some good leathers to give as much protection as possible and make sure your wear them, even in hot weather.”

The next Operation Biker ‘Keep Your Head’ event is on June 26 at Anchor Kawasaki in Finedon.