Thames Valley Police pull at heart strings in attempt to cut accident rates

Riders in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire are being urged to think about their own safety for the sake of their families when they’re out riding.

There have been 715 bikers killed  or seriously injured in the last three years across the three counties, and now Thames Valley Police are urging bikers to think not just about their own safety but of those they’d leave behind should they be seriously injured or killed whilst out riding.

New posters, being put up across the three counties depict a toddler crawling up the stairs crying with a helmet while another poster shows the toddler at his father’s grave stone once more with the helmet in his hand.

The powerful images have been designed to tug at the heart of bikers to encourage them to ride safely and responsibly.

Inspector Bob Jarrett, Safer Rider Campaign leader, said: “This current campaign with the child is a new idea for us. We are hoping this is going to strike a chord, if we take a risk on the road we take a risk being killed or injured but also it’s who we leave behind.

“We have a large number of motorcycle casualties which are disproportionate to other traffic on the road. We are happy to try anything that will assist in cutting motorcycle casualties and if that means putting out a message then we will do that.

I see no harm putting out the message mid bike season if a handful of people listen.”

Thames Valley Police are also set to unveil plans for a new rider training scheme later on in the year that is yet another tool to help cut accident rates. It will be used on bikers involved in accidents or who’ve been convicted for motoring offences as part of their conviction.

Details of this are set to be unveiled during the autumn.