A campaign on the Isle of Man will use covert police vehicles to maintain road safety during the busy period brought about by the 2016 Festival of Motorcycling.
‘The Force Is Behind You’ was first used during this year’s Isle of Man TT races and alerts road users to the increased presence of unmarked police vehicles equipped with video cameras.
The campaign is organised by the Island’s roads policing unit and road safety team, with trained officers on patrol to deal with those who persist in riding or driving dangerously.
Several thousand visitors are expected to travel to the Island for the Festival of Motorcycling, which gets under way this Saturday (20 August).
The campaign encourages visiting and local bikers to respect the Manx roads and ride within their capabilities. A pocket-size leaflet stresses the importance of keeping speeds down, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles and abiding by the central white lines.
Chief inspector Steve Maddocks said: “We are committed to making the Island’s roads as safe as possible all year round and keeping the number of collisions to an absolute minimum.
“The Festival of Motorcycling is a busy period and we hope everyone will heed the campaign messages, stay safe and remember the event for the quality of the racing and the unique atmosphere.
“High-visibility police patrols will be supported by unmarked vehicles to enforce the rules of the road and to tackle offences such as excessive speeding, dangerous riding and drink-driving.”
Gordon Edwards, road safety manager, added: “Road users should take extra care to adjust to the festival environment and higher volume of traffic.
“Excessive speed is a factor in many collisions and people are urged to use their common sense on sections of road that have no upper speed limit. At the end of every straight is a bend, so we want riders to behave responsibly and not take unnecessary risks.
“Those who flout the law will be dealt with by the courts. Remember: a driving ban follows you home.”
Let’s hope that the campaign is a success. I would like to take this opportunity to praise the IOM Police for their involvement in the recent ITV4 TT Blues program which did an excellent job of highlighting their efforts to ensure everyone’s road safety.
As well as being interesting TV, the program had plenty of subtle road safety messages that will have been delivered direct to the target audience. As Tesco are fond of telling us – ‘every little helps’.
David, Suffolk
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