The Shiny Side Up Partnership (SSUP) has launched a new, reflective social media campaign designed to prevent motorcycle collisions this autumn.
With this year’s summer ‘being a bit of a wash out’, the approach to autumn could provide an ‘end of summer’ opportunity which will attract motorcyclists to have one last ride out before winter draws in.
The change in season will also see SSUP partners replace the bright, yellow, SSUP signs, which display messages such as ‘Think Bike’, ‘To Die For?’ and ‘Bends Dead Ahead’ – for ‘ICE’ warning signs or urban ‘Think Bike’ signs as leisure riders bed down their machines for the winter.
Therefore, the SSUP wants to take one last opportunity to message drivers and riders about the type of road crashes it has seen during the summer months – and wants to avoid this autumn.
To do so, it will be sharing three of its Know the Dangers films on social media, boosted by paid advertising.
The first, published today (11 Sept), covers bends. Sadly, collisions on bends have featured strongly on the roads this summer and the SSUP says this could be down to inappropriate speed, incorrect road positioning, or braking at the wrong time – causing riders to lose control of their machines.
The second film will cover collisions on roundabouts and ask drivers to make sure they check (and then check again) for motorcyclists already using the roundabout, in addition to changing lanes – which the SSUP says is another crash scenario that sees those on four wheels collide with those on two.
Lastly, SSUP will be showing the tragic but common collision type where a driver turns across the path of an oncoming motorcyclist leaving them no room to get out of the way to safety.
The SSUP notes this type of crash often happens when drivers are fully concentrated on where they intend to turn instead of the road ahead, leaving the approaching motorcyclist no way out when they turn in front of the biker.
Heidi Duffy MBE, SSUP’s facilitator, said: “We appreciate that the Summer has been a disappointment to many including motorcyclists who may have been put off from going out due to the frequent rain showers.
“If the ‘summer’s end’ does encourage bikers out onto the roads, then we want to try and prevent some of the motorcycle crashes we have seen happen this year and, in the past.”
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