29.04.10 Bikers in Gloucestershire are being offered the opportunity to hone their skills with specialist instructors from Castle Combe Race Circuit. The special Rider Performance Safety Days are just £99 per person and for this, riders receive circuit-based rider improvement training, a half day workshop and time for free-lapping.

Join us on Weds 26th May, Weds 28th July or Weds 15th September 2010. There are only 60 places on each day, so book early – see: www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk.

And if you are interested in taking part, we’re interested in talking to you about your riding career and what you’re hoping to learn from the day. Call Chris Harrison on 01452 427585.

26.04.10 Chris Harrison, the Partnership’s motorcycle coordinator attended his first Gloucestershire ‘bikers’ nite’ last week at the the Apple Tree Pub in Woodmancote. Chris writes, “You don’t need to worry about finding a Biker Nite pub – just head for the area and follow all the bikes! Then as you get close, follow the smell of the huge BBQ which was already well under way when I got there around 7pm. 

A steady stream of bikes and riders continue until there was more than 300 bikes filling the car park and field. The variety is amazing from a 1900′s Indian and an RD350LC to to a 2009 RSV4. Whether it’s chrome or plastic, performance or comfort, on road or off road that’s floats your boat, it was there. 

Wandering round there’s as much variety in the characters as there is in the machines and we chat about bikes mainly, but the occasional biker asks for advice like “what’s the best way to get my wife on the back of my Harley”. It’s not just bikers either, there are wives, children, whole families in fact.

 I introduce myself to Steph who organises these events, she’s quite a character and wants to know all about the Rider performance day she is attending in May as she’s excited but also a little nervous.

 As the sun drops behind the houses, the raffle is drawn and the continuous flow of incoming bikes stops and bikes start to leave. I left at 10.30pm, it was a great night and an event where everyone is welcome – you don’t have to be a biker and I for one, am looking forward to the next event”.

21.04.10  When Megan Webster left Hartpury College to go home one day in September last year, she had no idea that all of her plans and dreams for the future would be shattered in an instant. She was involved in a collision that changed her life forever and now she is working with Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership to help other people by sharing her story.

Although Megan had been working at the college for over a year, she was just two weeks into her new job and studying for a Masters degree when she was involved in a major collision. She was exiting from Hartpury College onto the A417 when she collided with another car coming from Gloucester and had to be cut from her vehicle.  Megan didn’t realise how seriously she was injured until she was being carried to the air ambulance to be taken to Frenchay Hospital.

She suffered extensive leg injuries and at one point, it was a possibility that she would have to have it amputated. She had to have pins in her knee, her leg in traction to help her shattered pelvis and a further seven pins and two plates to hold her 25 fractures together.

As a result of her injuries, Megan could not continue with her Masters as it involves working with horses and she is no longer able to ride.  She will be on medication for the rest of her life and may need further surgery in the future.

Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership has worked with a local driving instructor , Andrew Jones, to produce a poster that will be put up in the local area this week to raise awareness of the ‘blind spot’ on the junction and to appeal to motorists to take their time, stop and look to the right properly before manoeuvring.

 Gloucestershire Highways will also be putting out temporary signs warning of the casualty figures and giving road safety advice. Megan said, “My advice to anyone using that junction is to take your time, sit and wait and double check that everything is clear. It seems a pain to sit there, especially when there are cars behind you, but those few extra seconds are nothing in reality. My life changed forever in that split second.”

21.04.10  Motorcyclists account for a quarter of all road users killed or seriously injured on Gloucestershire’s roads, and when compared to the relatively small number of motorcyclists on our roads, this figure is disproportionately high.

One of our priorities is to reduce these figures and we’ll be putting up black and yellow road signs next week on key motorcycle casualty routes which ask motorists to THINK BIKE!

The signs have successfully contributed to reducing the number of collisions on signposted routes over the past two years.  On average, there has been a 55% reduction in serious injuries during the signage campaigns.

They are a striking reminder to all road users to look properly before pulling out or overtaking at all times and to remind bikers to look out for the signs and take extra care on bends and in traffic.

The routes where the THINK BIKE signs will be located are:

• A40 Northleach junction to Little Barrington
• A435 Cowley junction to Cirencester
• A433 from Tetbury to Didmarton
• A417 Hartpury to Bromesberrow
• A436 Adoversford

 The signs will be in place next week and will remain until October.

16.03.10 - Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership is appealing to motorists to exercise some “horse sense” on the county’s roads as the evenings become lighter and more and more riders take the opportunity to exercise their horses. More than half of all collisions involving horses and vehicles happen on minor roads.

Sheila Corkett, the Partnership Manager said: “Motorists and horse riders both have a right to use the road, especially in a rural county like ours, so it is all road users’ responsibility to keep safe. Mutual courtesy and care between motorists and riders is important to prevent confrontation and improve safety.”

Horse sense for motorists:

• Look out for horses being led or ridden on the road
• At left hand bends and on narrow country roads take extra care and keep our speed down
• When you see a horse rider on the road – slow down
• When approaching from behind a horse rider give them plenty of room and be ready to stop
• When overtaking, pass wide and slow. Do not sound your horn, rev your engine or accelerate rapidly once you have passed them as horses are easily scared by noise and may panic around fast moving vehicles
• Look out for horses turning right. Riders keep to the left even when turning right as it would not be safe to position their horse in the centre of the road
• Beware of horses on roundabouts. Riders will signal right at exits they do not intend to take and signal left at the exit they want
• Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider

Riders should always wear the correct protective headgear and fluorescent/reflective accessories so that they can been seen at all times.

For more information, see our Fact Sheet

02.03.10  Gloucestershire’s new Motorcycle Coordinator is certainly well qualified to advise the county’s motorbike users on safety issues. Chris Harrison will be talking to riders of all kinds, from 50cc moped riders through to older leisure bikers about motorcycle training courses, using protective clothing and  riding safely.

Chris, said; “I had my first bike, a Vespa, when I was 16 and a 125cc at 17 but ended up crashing both of them!  I then got my HGV licence and drove a truck for many years.  As is typical of many men my age, I bought a sports bike and, even though I was an experienced rider, I decided to get a riding qualification.  This led onto me applying for the motorcycle coordinator role.

“One of the target groups I’ll be working with are older riders, who perhaps haven’t ridden a motorbike since their youth.  They are at higher risk of accidents because  motorbikes now are much more powerful and the roads are busier. 

“But I will also be targeting young and inexperienced riders and will be going into schools and colleges to talk to young people about the dangers of riding illegally or in an anti-social way and the benefits of safety training.”Chris will become a familiar face at bike shows and festivals throughout the county and is available to give talks to groups about motorcycle and moped safety. To book a talk, please contact Chris on 01452 427585.

05.02.10   On Monday 1st February Gloucestershire County Council officially launched ‘Operation Road Rescue’ to help fix and repair roads damaged by the severe winter weather. Follow this link to find out more about the County Council’s attack on pot holes; what causes them, how they are being fixed, and how they’re prioritising the work. There’s even  a short video to watch.

The 2010 dates for Better Biking have been released. The course takes place on two consecutive Sundays between 9am and 4pm and the venue is Gloucester Community Fire Station, Eastern Avenue, Gloucester. Dates are: April 18 & 25^th; May 23 & 30^th; July 4 & 11^th; September 5th & 12^th; October 3 & 10th. For more information or to book, call 01452 425557. Further info

23.12.09 The Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership, Gloucestershire Constabulary, the 29 Regiment Royal Logistics Corp and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue have been working together to deliver an important Christmas message. On December 15, the Regiment held an information morning to make soldiers aware of the dangers and consequences of drink driving, as part of the countywide Christmas campaign.

During the morning the soldiers were given presentations by Tracey Wilson from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue, PC Simon Ross from Gloucestershire Constabulary and Garry Handley from the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership. Using the theme of Christmas past, present and future they conveyed the importance of the drink drive campaign’s key message, ‘none for the road’, by discussing their personal experiences of working at the scene of a road traffic collision caused by drink driving, the effect this has on them and the impact on those involved and their friends and families.

Garry said; “When we arranged to visit the regiment we discovered something rather poignant that emphasised the importance of the drink drive campaign’s message to the soldiers and everyone involved. We discovered that 29 Regiment consists of just over 400 people, which is almost identical to the number of people that were killed in drink drive road collisions last year. It was shocking to look at such a large group of people and think that the size of the group replicated that of all the lives lost. This really highlighted the important role that we all play in keeping the county’s roads safe by driving responsibly and this is why we are urging the whole community to take heed of the ‘none for the road’ message in this year’s Christmas drink drive campaign.”

15.12.09 Many parents will be buying their children bikes for Christmas and are being asked to consider more than just the style, size and colour.

The road safety partnership ask that parents should take into account the following points:

• Choose your child’s  bike with care and get advice from a good dealer
• Buy them a cycle helmet that is the right size, that they like and they will wear
• Train them in basic cycle control away from the road
• Teach them good road sense by setting a good example
• Cycle along with your child in front of you, that way you can see them, talk to them and protect them from following traffic
• Ensure they take part in an organised Cyclist Training Scheme. Ask your school for details.
• Whatever the pressures, don’t let them out on their own until you are certain they can cope
• Make sure they are always easily seen and wear bright, high visibility clothing
• Enjoy cycling with your child – it’ll make all the difference