One in five road users killed or seriously injured in the region are bikers. The Highways Agency and East Anglian Air Ambulance will have a simple message to road users, especially those on four wheels, “Think Bike.”

Nearly 500 bikers died on Britain’s roads in 2008, and another 5,600 were injured. On the motorways and major A roads in East Anglia in 2008, eight motorcyclists were killed and 119 motorcyclists were injured.  Around 75 per cent of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured occur in collisions involving another vehicle, usually a car. The majority of these collisions occur at junctions.

While bikers can take steps to manage and reduce their own personal risk, the Think Bike campaign from the Department for Transport encourages car drivers to consider the person riding the motorbike.

Four huge lorry trailers provided by a local haulier will take the Think Bike message around East Anglia and the rest of Great Britain on 20-foot-long panels on the side of the lorries.

Steve Davy, Highways Agency Road Safety Coordinator for East Anglia, said:
“Motorcyclists represent less than one per cent of road users, but in terms of those killed or seriously injured road users, they account for 19 per cent of the total number of casualties. We have to get it home to all road users they must Think Bike.

“The Highways Agency is working with East Anglian Air Ambulance to push this really simple message, and using the trailers on the roads themselves is a novel way of doing that. 

“The lorry trailers are part of a wide range of campaigns that we deliver in partnership with local authorities and the emergency services to reduce the number of motorcyclist casualties.”

The launch of the campaign took place on Friday 26 March at Marshall Airport in Cambridge.

Simon Gray, Chief Executive of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: 
“Over 50 per cent of the incidents we attend are serious road traffic accidents and, all too often, motorcyclists are involved.  We support any initiatives that highlight the importance to all road users of taking extra care when driving close to motorcyclists and would like to thank the Highways Agency and haulier Turners of Soham Ltd for coming up with this novel way to get the message across.”

Franklin Turner, Director of Turners of Soham Ltd, said:
”We are only too pleased to co-operate with this campaign. Our drivers are only too aware of the vulnerability of motorcyclists on the country’s trunk roads. We reckon that these four trailers will cover approximately 100,000 miles during the six months of the campaign giving many thousands of motorists the opportunity to get the “Think Bike” message.”