British troops warned over reckless motorcycle riding

Multi-million pound ads warning troops of the dangers of riding motorcycles recklessly have been posted on YouTube.

You might have thought riding a bike would be the least worry for a soldier who’s just returned from Afghanistan – and perhaps that’s the problem. The Ministry of Defences (MoD) said returning troops are more likely to die on the roads because they “don’t have the same safety parameters” as civilians.

He said the British Army made the ads after research showed returning troops’ risk of road death was twice that of civilians.

The two shocking YouTube clips show graphic motorcycle crash scenes. One shows paramedics waiting with a stretcher before the crash occurs and then the message: ‘You’re an accident waiting to happen.’ The second raises the suffering of loved ones following a crash. Both end with the message: “British troops are twice as likely to die on the roads as civvies.”

An MoD spokesman said it was possible the clips had been deliberately posted on YouTube by the army in a viral campaign. “The more people it can get to the better and YouTube is a good way of doing that,” he said.

The ads are also to be shown to troops in debriefings and on British Forces TV and radio.

The Mod spokesman said they were filmed in Germany as they were originally pilots aimed at troops posted there.

Viewers on Youtube have posted comments ranging from: “That’s put me off riding a bike” to: “Very thought provoking.”

Watch the clips here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s3DxatSs8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2LGcVes4Uo&feature=related