Info: Village Life - and motorcyclists

In an article in the London Daily Mail on June 15th 2001, The author of an article about motorcyle deaths (stated that they had risen by 8% in 2001 against previous figures). It states that in the authors village four local people had died in motorcycle accidents in the last few years. So remember even if its your local village - ride safe.

Village Life

Living in a village can be an idyllic lifestyle, and for many is an ambition they have yet to achieve, but living in a village which is populated by motorcyclists every weekend is not always something to wish for.

Consider this when you are out riding. Whilst the roads may be twisty and the meeting points picturesque, these are places where people live and have to put up with hoards of bikers turning up every weekend (and weekdays!).

For the villagers, it can be a source of trade and welcomed. Many enjoy looking at the bikes and are indeed bikers themselves, but for non-enthusiasts it can be a bit of a nightmare.

You have every right to visit there. Just as they have every right to live there. But please ensure that you don't break the law and speed through villages, that you keep the volume down, so to speak and don't try your burnouts and test your rev limiter whilst passing through. For the villagers, enjoying a lazy Sunday in the garden is now likened with sitting trackside at the World Superbikes.

In general - its not the single motorcyclist who is the problem to villages. It simply the sheer volume of them. So if you are travelling in groups - don't race about as though your at Mallory. Keep the volume down and make sure that these places stay popular with motorcyclists and with the villagers.

If you're causing a disturbance, the villagers will complain. This has happened in villages on the approach to and from Hartside, and because of complaints to the police there is a stronger police presence in these areas. But, it is not just at hartside that the problem lies. It is in villages all over the country. Devils Bridge had a higher than ever police presence last year - and this HAS stopped many motorcyclists going there.

Ride Safe - and keep your bike Road Legal.

There have already been 3 fatal motorcycle accidents in Essex this year. That's one county. On Hartside pass, new signs have been erected stating the number of fatal casualties on only a single part of the A686. Don't become a statistic..