Derbyshire: New safety magazine for motorists

Ride Smart – a free safety magazine for motorcyclists - will be launched by Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership on Easter Sunday (20 April).
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Free copies of the new publication will be available at the partnership’s Easter Sunday Motorcycle Meet in Matlock Bath’s Pavilion car park. Riders dropping by between midday and 3pm can pick up a copy of the magazine and learn about the partnership’s training schemes for new and qualified riders.

Andy Adlington, the partnership’s motorcycle safety officer, said: “Ride Smart has something for every motorcyclist in Derbyshire – it doesn’t matter where you ride, when you ride or what you ride.

“We’ve got great features on taking care of your bike, riding gear, group riding and first aid. There’s also a wealth of advice about staying safe on the roads. Riding in the countryside demands a different set of survival skills to riding in town so we’ve included in-depth features on rural and urban riding techniques.”

During the leisure biking season, Derbyshire police will be making their presence felt on the countryside roads where bikers are regularly getting killed or hurt. Thanks to funding from Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership, they will be running an operation designed to prevent countryside crashes involving motorcyclists.

Operation Focus is due to be launched on Good Friday (18 April) and will run on weekends and selected evenings until September. During that time, marked and unmarked vehicles will be used to carry out speed detection and patrols on routes with high casualty figures.

Operation Twickenham, which is designed to reduce urban rider casualties, runs from October to April.

Chief Inspector Tracy Lewis, head of roads policing in Derbyshire, said: “Comparatively speaking, riders make up the largest proportion of those killed or seriously injured on Derbyshire roads because there are far fewer motorcycles on our roads than there are cars. During Operation Focus, we will be speaking with riders about the dangers of speeding and will take enforcement action in the more serious cases.

“Derbyshire police are keen to ensure our roads are as safe as possible and the Ride Smart magazine will be really helpful to all riders, even those that are more experienced.”

During the partnership’s Easter Sunday Motorcycle Meet in Matlock Bath, riders will be able to learn about Derbyshire BikeSafe workshops and CBT Plus training.

Derbyshire BikeSafe workshops allow qualified riders to further develop their skills for just £39. Each workshop consists of:

a classroom session covering safe riding techniques; and

a two-hour assessed ride

Once bikers have completed their assessed ride, they’ll receive advice about how to improve. For more details call Andy Adlington on 01629 538067 or 07827 308480. Alternatively you can visit www.bikesafe.co.uk

CBT Plus helps new riders to improve their skills. The normal cost of this type of training is £75 – but riders living in Derbyshire can enrol for just £15 thanks to a discount offered by the partnership.

CBT Plus is designed to be completed at around the same time as the compulsory basic training that all bikers must pass before they are allowed to ride on public roads. For more details call Andy Adlington on 01629 538067 or 07827 308480.