The DOE Northern Ireland has launched (10 Mar) an “emotive and thought-provoking television campaign highlighting motorcyclist vulnerability”.
The campaign, which will run on television from 10-31 March 2015 and be supported by cinema and online activity, has two key messages.
The first film, “Bike Speed”, urges bikers to think about the emotional wreckage they will leave behind if they speed. The core message to motorcyclists is, “it’s not just you who crashes”.
The second, “Biker Aware”, aims to encourage drivers to focus on taking care when turning right and emerging from minor roads. The core message to drivers is, “take another look”.
Mark Durkan, Northern Ireland’s environment minister, said: “Motorcyclists have a right to ride on the road, just as motorists have a right to drive. Drivers must be vigilant of motorcyclists and respect their right to use the road. Bikers themselves need to take sensible precautions like slowing down and using the road safely.
“If we share the road, we have to share the responsibility. Everyone has the right to travel on the road. Everyone has the right to come home safely to their loved ones.”
Assistant chief constable Alan Todd, PSNI, said: “This latest advertisement shows just how quickly the lives of people can change, because of one moment of inattention, one momentary lapse of judgment.
“All road users need to take responsibility for their actions. Slow down, pay greater attention to your surroundings and never drive or get on the bike after drinking or taking drugs.”
Excellent videos depicting realistic, everyday collision scenarios. As ever, it depends on people seeing them, remembering them and acting upon them – every time. One may have the self-discipline to do things by the book 99 times out of a hundred, but that one time we may lose concentration, may be the last time. There’s no room for complacency out on the highways.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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The videos are extremely well done. Very moving and very poignant. Should be on cinemas and on TV on public release as it gets to all parties not only the rider and the other party that may be at fault but also the relationships within one’s family that can and should be brought to mind by the rider.
Hoping that they will affect behaviour is another matter. I hope that they do. Nobody believes that its going to happen to them, a reality which is sometimes brought back when someone known to them suffers.
Bob Craven Lancs….Space is Safe campaigner
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