Online videos fuel calls for bike power limits

Internet clips of speeding motorcyclists are putting the future of biking in jeopardy, riders’ groups have said. 

A reckless minority who film themselves and post clips on video sharing sites like YouTube are persuading Government to bring in power and speed caps, the groups said.

Headlines were made last week by a clip which appears to show a rider hitting 176mph on UK roads on the site LiveLeak.com.

The footage, which has been watched online by 220,000 people, was shown on ITV1’s Tonight programme last Tuesday. Tonight: Death Race 2007 featured a selection of the worst riding and driving clips to be found online.

Riders’ rights groups say the clips strengthen calls from road safety groups for motorcycles to be “downsized” by restricting power and top speed.

The British Motorcyclists Federation said Ministers were more likely to agree to the move.

Spokesman Jeff Stone said: “I genuinely think that is the danger. This is not good for the future of motorcycling.”

MCN revealed in September that MPs had been urged to ‘insist Government look at downsizing motorcycles’ in a letter signed by eight road safety groups including RoadPeace.

Stephen Plowden, advisor to the Slower Speed Initiative and a key voice behind calls for downsizing, said: “I suppose from my point of view it’s helpful.”

He added: “If there were no such incidents my view as to the appropriate policy would not be changed.”