Waking up to rider safety - and coffee
Motorcyclists are being encouraged to ride as if there’s a target on their back.
A police highway patrol unit led a pack of 25 bikers on a ride through Palmerston North on Monday morning, before a free feed and a frank discussion about road safety.
Central District police were seeking their help promoting the Look Twice motorcycle safety and awareness campaign.
Central District road policing manager Inspector Brett Calkin said Look Twice was part of a police effort to rein in a road toll that has got worryingly high this year.
Thirty-eight people have already died on Central District roads in 2017 year. That’s eight more than in all of 2016, and two more than in 2015.
Calkin said a resurgence in the popularity of motorcycling meant there were more serious motorcycle crashes contributing to the high road toll.
This included 26-year-old Hayden Tahau, who died in March when his motorbike crashed into another vehicle on Bridge St in Bulls after a police pursuit.
Calkin said one of the issues was drivers found it difficult to spot motorcyclists. This was why the campaign was called Look Twice.
But riders needed to be aware they were hard to spot, and police encouraged them to learn how to ride defensively through ACC’S Ride Forever programme.
AFC Motorcycles owner Brendan Tootell said he and the other bikers were happy to help promote the Look Twice campaign.
‘‘We tell people when they buy their first bike to treat every other vehicle like it’s trying to get you.’’