TWIST: That's Why I Should Think... Bike!

A new campaign has been launched by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Road Safety Partnership to encourage motorcyclists to take additional training. The campaign titled 'TWIST' prompts motorcyclists to use the mantra 'That's When I Should Think' whenever they twist the throttle.

The campaign takes a very different approach to many other campaigns aimed at this audience and uses a humorous, 'tongue-in-cheek', short animated film caricaturing some of the extreme behaviour witnessed on the road. The aim of the campaign isn't to point the finger at riders, or suggest that all bikers ride irresponsibly, but to highlight that how ever much experience they have there is always room for improvement. Drivers should also pick up on the mantra That’s why I should Think - Bike.

In the last three years (2010 to 2012) there have been 870 Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) casualties in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. Tragically 16 were fatal. On a national level, the Department for Transport (DfT) states that motorcyclists make up just 1% of total road traffic, but account for 22% of all road user deaths. Put another way, riders are 50 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured (KSI) in serious or fatal crashes than car drivers, and around 108 riders every week become KSI casualties – that’s 5,609 riders in 2011.*

There’s a lot of debate about why these figures are so high, and who it is to blame (drivers or riders themselves) – but the indisputable fact is that if a rider has a collision with another vehicle he or she will almost certainly come off worst.

For more information visit the campaign website at www.twistandride.net or check out the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

* Source: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2011, Department for Transport