The next force to target bikes is…

North Yorkshire Police are the latest force to announce get-tough measures against riders. Welcome to summer. If there’s a force out there that won’t be singling us out for special grief in the near future, perhaps they could let us know?

North Yorks tough measures include: Extra high-profile patrols; A series of get-tough action days with large numbers of road cops out to issue tickets on roads with records of serious bike accidents or complaints of ” anti-social rider behaviour ” ; The fast-tracking of the worst speed offenders through the courts – to accelerate how quickly you get to lose your licence. Nice.

” Enough is enough, ” said Assistant Chief Constable David Collins. ” Residents and visitors alike are suffering damage to the quality of their lives because of a minority of riders and, worst of all, unacceptable numbers of riders are being killed and seriously injured. This cannot continue. ”

The force points to statistics that show one in three deaths on the roads it covers were riders or pillions. It doesn’t reveal how many were single bike or multiple vehicle accidents. But the force reckons a key cause of North Yorks’ disproportionately high death rate is the fact that its twisty, swooping dales and moors roads attract large numbers of leisure riders, many on high performance bikes which ” outstrip the skills of the riders ” .

It also blames sports bike riders for many of the complaints the force receives from locals about high speed, noise (often from race cans) and dangerous riding.

A spokesman said: ” We want riders to come to North Yorkshire and enjoy our marvellous motorcycling roads. But we expect them to ride safely, within the law. ”

He warned: ” Those who choose to ignore this message can expect to be dealt with severely, and in appropriate cases we will ask that the courts impose driving disqualifications. ”

Both police and the Highway Authority will also continue their Bike Safe campaign, and the Bike Safe caravan will be at bike gatherings throughout the summer.

Have we earned this hassle through our own behaviour or are you fed up of being singled out for choosing to travel on two wheels? Have your say on our News board in Discussion & Chat (see link, right).