New leaflet from GEM Motoring Assist to reduce risks for motorcyclists

14 August 2007

Free advice on safer filtering and group riding is now available for motorcyclists in the form of a leaflet from road safety champion GEM Motoring Assist. The pocket-size leaflet details some of the hazards associated with filtering (the action practised by many motorcycle riders of passing other vehicles caught in slow moving or stationary traffic) and group riding, with the aim of keeping riders safe on commuter and leisure journeys.

Comments David Williams, Chief Executive of GEM Motoring Assist: “For most motorcyclists the freedom of the open road is the primary attraction of riding. “Unfortunately, though, far too many motorcyclists are dying or being seriously injured because somebody or something along the way took them by surprise. Motorcycle fatalities still stand at around 22 per cent above the 1994-98 figure set as a baseline by the Government.

“GEM wants to help riders reduce the risks they face – and the risks they pose to others - by helping them to know the law, to accept their own limitations and to be even more aware in plenty of time of the array of hazards that can affect them.”

The leaflet was written by Martin Cooke, a former police motorcyclist and now Chairman of the Trustees of the GEM Road Safety Charity. He believes the content of the leaflet offers a worthwhile alternative to the usual line-up of control skills and attitude change literature. “There’s no element of preaching in the leaflet,” he says. “Read it and you might avoid the sort of injudicious act that would not only incur a traffic cop’s disapproval but put you or someone else in unnecessary danger.

“More and more motorcyclists filter routinely to save sitting in queues, but everyone has his or her preferred speed and there are too many drivers and pedestrians who may simply not be expecting a rider to be anywhere near them when they change lanes suddenly. We believe the leaflet will assist riders in balancing the relative risks and benefits of filtering.

“Group riding on a sunny day is one of life’s true pleasures for most motorcyclists, but all the usual hazards of the open road apply when you’re in a group, with the potential added danger of other riders in close proximity. We hope this leaflet will help riders of all skill levels to stay as safe as possible in a group riding environment.”