Motorcyclists will see their names up in lights as part of a bold new THINK! campaign to save lives on the roads.

The new TV adverts will show bikers with flashing neon signs attached to their bikes.  The signs show the rider's name and describe personality traits
such as 'shy retiring type' or 'new dad'.  The voiceover at the end asks drivers to look out for motorcyclists next time they're out driving

The new £3.5m campaign - launched by Road Safety Minister Paul Clark today - marks a radical departure for THINK! after research showed drivers are more likely to notice motorcyclists on the roads if they personally know a biker. 

The adverts put motorcyclists at the centre of the new campaign in a bid to encourage all drivers to see the person behind the helmet – and so tackle the huge over-representation of motorcyclists in road casualty figures. Motorcyclists account for 1% of traffic but 19% of deaths on Britain’s roads and in 2008 648 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured on the roads in the East.

Paul Clark said:"We are working hard to tackle the unacceptable number of collisions where motorcyclists are killed on Britain's roads and our THINK! campaigns are a vital part of this.

"Previous adverts have warned drivers to look out for bikes in specific situations such as at T-junctions or in their blind spots and showed the deadly consequences of failing to do so.  This exciting new campaign goes a step further by asking drivers to reconsider the way they look at bikers." 

"I hope this bold new approach will help to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed or hurt in crashes with cars in the East."

Ian Temperton  from the regional Road Safety GB group welcomed the motorcycle awareness campaign. He said:“The provisional figures for 2009 show that there was a small drop in motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on our region’s roads.  However - as this THINK! campaign shows - much still remains to be done to make motorcyclists safer and we would urge drivers to look out for bikers when they're out on the roads.”

The new 'Named Riders' campaign starts on Monday March 1st and includes TV, radio, cinema and online advertising.  The first TV advert will air on March 1st during Emmerdale.

There will also be a campaign called ‘Be Alive to the Road’ which will encourage new motorcyclists to wear protective clothing and take up further training.