Police give older bikers safety advice

Date: 5/5/2010

Older bikers need to refresh their riding skills to reduce the number of accidents on the roads, according to Lancashire Police.

Officers from the force spoke to 250 bikers and quizzed them about their driving methods.

Police noted there have been 11 fatal motorcycle collisions across the region and of those, nine involved riders who were over the age of 45.

Sergeant Nigel Ralphson from the road policing unit remarked: "The fact that over 80 per cent of those killed are in this older age group cannot be purely coincidental. I would ask older riders to make a realistic assessment of their abilities."

He also said riders need to give themselves more time to react if something happens when they are on their vehicles, as reaction times slow down as people get older.

West Midlands Casualty Reduction Scheme recently arranged a bike show in a bid to encourage riders to stay safe after figures revealed most accidents happen during rush-hour traffic.