The Isle of Man Constabulary’s social media channels will play a central role in efforts to promote road safety during the 2015 TT Festival.
The Manx police force’s digital presence will support the traditional TT poster campaign to encourage people to take extra care on the Island’s roads during the two-week festival.
@TweetbeatIOM will help keep Twitter followers up to date with important information such as road closures and traffic diversions. Using the hashtags #SafeSummerRidingIOM, #ShareTheRoadIOM and #IOMTT, it will provide safety advice and guidance, as well as crime prevention tips.
The campaign is setting out to portray the consequences of careless riding, using the strapline, ‘For All Our Sakes, Slow Down’.
One poster shows a badly damaged motorcycle in a wheelie bin, with the strapline ‘Don’t Bin It’ – a play on the phrase used by bikers to describe a crash. Another depicts a biker travelling on the TT course above a photo of an injured rider heading home on foot, with the message ‘Biker to Foot Passenger’.’
Posters will be displayed at ports used by visiting fans and at prominent locations around the Isle of Man, including TT campsites and vantage points on the Mountain Course.
Members of the roads policing unit and road safety team will also be out and about during the TT to stress the importance of keeping speeds down, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles and abiding by the central white lines.
The campaign is targeting all road users, and primary schools will be given a TT road safety worksheet to raise awareness among children.
A one-way system will be in place on the Mountain Road in a bid to reduce the number of collisions and unmarked police vehicles will be deployed throughout the Island.
Superintendent Kevin Willson said: “The use of social media strengthens our commitment to high-visibility policing and face-to-face communication during the TT.
“By integrating our Twitter account into the road safety campaign we can enhance the service we provide and help protect vulnerable people.”
Gordon Edwards, road safety manager, said: “Riders are encouraged to share the road responsibly and be aware that it’s business as usual for heavy goods vehicles making deliveries to local businesses.
“A brief lapse in concentration can have tragic consequences, so bikers should always ride to the conditions and adhere to speed limits.
“I would also urge fans to get to their favourite spectator spots well ahead of races getting under way. The roads are at their busiest – and the most collisions occur – in the ‘golden hour’ immediately before the course closes.
“Our message to visitors is: ride well within your limits, obey the law, go home safely and come back and enjoy our beautiful Island again soon.”
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