Video: Young riders shown the real cost of not wearing protective gear

“Three broken ribs, a punctured lung and three nights on life support” – Strong message suggesting the price you could pay for wearing casual clothing while riding.

We take a look back at this moving Highways England‘s campaign targetting young riders to stress the importance of wearing protective clothing when riding.

The campaign features the above video, filmed in Shoreditch, London where a pop-up clothing store replaces the normally-listed monetary price of the garments with the injury cost or hospital treatment that could result in not being adequately protected. 

It’s hoped it will make riders think twice about not wearing protective clothing in a bid to help lower statistics of young riders that end up involved in un-necessary treatment: Last year over 2,500 riders were killed or injured riding their motorbikes.

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“The campaign is extremely thought-provoking, with some sobering messages about life-changing injuries which could so easily have been avoided,” said Andrew Green, Executive Principal at Chichester College, where the campaign made it’s debut. We hope it is successful in inspiring riders to think twice before getting on a motorcycle without protective clothing.”

Highways England claim that 38% of rider casualties involve younger riders, despite only representing 15% of the motorcyclists in the UK. It means that lack of experience or protective clothing plays a major contributing factor in rider injuries.

With licencing laws heavily restricting what riders under the age of 24 can ride, it also means that the majority of small bikes in the country are used by those who fall in the 17-23 age category. Statistics also show that six of the nine hotspots in the UK for incidents that involve death or serious injury of younger riders is in the South East.

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