“A fine line between enjoying motorcycling responsibly and pushing the limits”

08.34 | 18 August 2023 | | 5 comments

Motorcycle ‘legend’ and TV presenter Henry Cole is the face of a new publicity campaign aimed at motorcyclists in Devon and Cornwall.

Henry, who is best known for his eccentric antics on ITV’s ‘The Motorbike Show’ and ‘Find It, Fix It, Flog It’ on Channel 4, fronts the powerful new campaign from the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership.

The video, filmed at his famous shed studio in Oxfordshire, sees Henry read a letter from Cornish motorcyclist Jason addressed to his mother, apologising for his actions in the wake of a real-life motorbike crash in the county.

The collision, which Jason admits was caused by him ‘showing off’, left him badly injured and scarred, unable to enjoy his favourite hobbies of surfing, skating and playing football.

In the course of the letter, we hear Jason’s regret for pushing the limits and for not wearing protective clothing, which may have changed the course of his life.

Henry Cole said: “As soon as I heard about this project I was happy to support it. It’s heart-breaking that more motorcyclists are being killed and seriously injured, and anything I can do to help prevent that is a no-brainer.

“Motorbikes give you an unparalleled sense of exhilaration and freedom, and I have spent much of my life promoting this wonderful industry.

“But there’s a fine line between enjoying motorcycling responsibly and pushing the limits of your own experience, which could easily turn a fun day out into a tragedy.”

 

The campaign comes after 16 people were killed and 187 seriously injured in collisions involving motorbikes on the roads of Devon and Cornwall in 2022.

It is just one of a host of projects being delivered by Vision Zero South West to reduce motorcycle collisions. 

These include a pioneering operation using drones to monitor motorbikes and cars on high-harm routes across both counties, a series of educational videos in conjunction with motorcycle YouTubers RiderCamTV and the procurement of a state-of-the-art motorcycle training simulator – the first of its kind in the UK – which will be used to provide free advanced and hazard awareness training.

Adrian Leisk, Devon & Cornwall Police head of road safety, and also chair of the Vision Zero South West enforcement committee, said: “Despite motorcyclists making up less than 1% of overall traffic, they account for roughly a third of all serious and fatal collisions in our area. 

“But it’s important to highlight that these aren’t just numbers, these are people’s loved ones – parents, sons, daughters, friends and partners – and each tragic message we deliver leaves a devastating impact with them which will stay with them forever.

“Motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable road users, not least because they have considerably less protection than drivers of cars or other vehicles in the event of a collision. Preventing any further unnecessary loss of life is our top priority.

“I’d like to thank Henry Cole for kindly agreeing to be part of this important campaign. He is a well-known and much-loved figure in the motorcycling community and I hope his involvement will help this powerful message spread far and wide and, ultimately, help us save lives.”


 

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      Good question, Rod. My thoughts on that are that the problem may be that many, recreational or not, generally do not realise when they are taking risks; i.e. their treat perception is very low. That’s not just for motorcyclists, tha’s general.


      Nigel ALBRIGHT, Taunton
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      Maybe the simple question is :-

      To what extent should recreational risk-taking be condoned on public roads?


      Rod King, Lymm
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      Understood, Mark, but I understand the motive for this ‘campaign’. It is because a lot of motorcyclists are either killing themselves in Devon and Cornwall or doing extremely stupid speeds for the conditions, sometimes resulting in the former, which unfortunately means that many motorcyclists do not understand the dangers to themselves, in other words what is safe and unsafe. That’s also why there are many more officially organised and police supported courses or programmes for motorcyclists than there are for car drivers, although many of the latter could do with it as well. The difference often is that the latter has some protection within a steel box so are more likely to get away with their errors.


      Nigel ALBRIGHT, Taunton
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      It’s ok to educate motorcyclists, but to what extent does this roll out to car drivers and other road users? Most bikers know the dangers to themselves but in the respect we are not entirely at fault in these accidents! Hope it’s a well balanced campaign!


      Mark Dawson, Worcester
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      And FYI this is what I have just written to the local RSU which is staffed by former police advanced car and motorcycle officers. ‘Have you seen his riding? His checks joining main roads is classic average driver/rider – check right and go. I don’t know when he was last seen using the mirrors and his overtaking is classic slingshot (otherwise called ’banana’). His awareness of positioning away from junctions, (and probably parked vehicles, for example) as far s I can see, is non-existent, Not to mention riding with one hand on the bar and gesturing with the other. He is an interesting character, an excellent presenter with an entertaining program format, but that’s as far as it goes.


      Nigel ALBRIGHT, Taunton
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