Bikers must be careful on roads

Motorcyclists planning to get back on the road this weekend are being asked to take care, particularly on Perthshire’s country roads.

Despite making up just two per cent of Scottish road users, bikers make up a disproportionate number of those who are killed and seriously injured every year.

Three in five motorcycle crashes result in a death and 85 per cent of all biker deaths in 2018 were on rural roads.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is concerned there could be a sudden spike in motorcyclist casualties as more bikers head out to ride on rural roads.

Sharp bends, blind corners, other motorists and poor road surfaces are the dangers they face, but it is likely to have been a while since they experienced these conditions, so may need to re-familiarise themselves.

RoSPA has just launched its Better Bikers campaign, which aims to increase the uptake of post-test training for Scottish motorcyclists.

As part of the campaign, RoSPA has launched a digital hub at www. BetterBikers.org.uk which will host information, advice and resources on how to handle country roads. It will also include links to organisations that can help bikers to upskill.