Richard Butler’s letter of reply

” Oh dear – things do seem to have gone a bit OTT! Still, I suppose the reporter was only doing his job, just like I was trying to do when speaking on behalf of a number of people who had approached me with their concerns.

It was quite a long debate and, to be honest, although it is a very serious matter indeed (the safety/casualty issues) I wanted to try and bring some “life” into the session which came at the end of a long and somewhat tiring/tedious council meeting. I had hoped for humour (which was there but not reported, obviously).

Incidentally, Joyce and I get on very well indeed, believe it or not and the debate was, I believe, good-natured. But the fact of the matter is that last year in Notts, out of 74 road fatalities, 22 were motorcyclists.

This is AWFUL. And yes, I know that not all bike accidents are their fault – I know only too well that there are idiots in four or more wheels who do some crazy things, sometimes involving bikes, sometimes not.

Whenever a fatal road accident has occurred, the county councillor who looks after the area where it happened, automatically gets a letter/report from the Accident Investigation Dept. Last summer, I received 4 of these and it gives me no pleasure whatsoever to tell you that they were all bikers. And without divulging details, I am sorry to say that they were a mix of single vehicle accidents (e.g. coming off a bend etc) and collisions with other traffic.

Despite the impression that the NEP article may have given, I am actually a really tolerant person who believes in live and let live etc. After all, as I said at the time, but was not quoted, it’s a free country.

However, I mentioned that my job is to represent residents, constituents, call them what you will, and I used this opportunity to try and get their points across, as well as highlighting the very real danger that some bike riders put themselves in. My “patch” consists of a large country/rural area which includes villages and outlying areas.

By the very nature, these are pleasant areas that some people are very fortunate to live in whilst others like to come out and experience the greenery, nature and peace. But, and this is what the people are saying, you cannot deny that a considerable number of bikes seem to be very noisy.

Dare I say noisier than perhaps they were originally designed to be? And in my area (as in other outlying areas) there are lots of roads which “lend” themselves to being well used. I’m talking about some sweeping “A” and “B” roads right down to small lanes. As you know, people live on or near these roads and, whilst everyone knows there will be traffic and some noise, what people are really getting stressed about is the serious mix of very high-revving engines and modified exhausts which literally shatter the peace.

And what tends to happen is that, say on a Sunday or other pleasant weather days, understandably, quite a lot of bikers group together, and to peoples’ minds, a lot of them are excessively noisy.

I have had villagers almost in tears at times at the fact that they are trying to get a bit of enjoyment in their gardens, houses, but feel at times as if they are being “invaded”. Then on top of the noise, you surely must accept that a lot of bikers (like some other motorists) are going very quickly.

Ironically, much as a lot is said everywhere about speeding, even though many bikes will be doing over 100mph at times, it is not this that people are talking to me about – it really is the noise. And comments are also made about small hard-to-read numberplates? Anyway, I have probably gone on long enough and I hope that I have not jammed your system etc! Oh yes, the comment about tanked up – it was meant to be a humorous play on words. Councillors/politicians are often accused of being staid and boring. Sorry I tried to be different now, given some rather unpleasant messages that have come along (not yours, I hasten to add).

What was implied was that some riders come tanking out to country pubs for biker’s nights etc. If people choose to interpret that as implying that they are drinking, well so be it. And finally, you may find this hard to believe, but I follow motorsport (albeit 4 wheels) and in years gone by when I was younger, I was always impressed by Barry Sheene’s success!

Yours sincerely Richard Butler