Gary likes motorbikes and was very excited to meet the RPU motorcyclists today. He was a bit disappointed though because they wont let him ride on their bikes until he's wearing the right protective clothing. If he fell off he has nothing to protect his head or his hands and his little woolly clothes would not protect him much if he were to slide down the road. The motorcyclists have let him sit on the bikes though and maybe if they can find him a tiny protective suit he can go out with them tomorrow. Gary is upset but realises that it is sensible to wear the right clothing just in case of an accident.

Here he is behind the screen of a BMW K1200. It is very fast but in the right hands is also very safe. Do you see the website details on it?

www.bikesafe.co.uk

This website gives lots of good road safety advice to motorcyclists and details of special courses run all over the country to make them safer riders. If you know someone who rides a motorbike tell them to have a good look at this site. A Bikesafe workshop might even make a good Christmas present for someone in your family wherever they live in the country and hopefully they will be enjoying many more Christmases to come.

During their training on Bikesafe the motorcyclists are encouraged to constantly look for hazards which might cause them to lose control of their motorbikes such as other road users, changes in landscape or road surface etc. This is fairly easy by day but much harder when it is dark or when it is raining.

Look at this deep rut in the road near Harbury. Gary saw it on his travels today and took a photo to show how deep it is. Imagine what might happen if a motorcyclist went into this rut in the dark!

Gary is now sending an email to the County Council Highways department telling them about this dangerous rut so that they can send someone out to repair it. The Council are usually very quick to repair faults if you email details to them. This is the link to tell them about any faulty roads or signs you may see on your travels around Warwickshire.

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/corporate/ofr.nsf/ofr4?openform

If the fault is very dangerous such as a fallen tree or a big spillage of diesel then ring 999 and tell the Police before someone has an accident.

Gary says - We want Warwickshire to be the safest place to be so whether its a road problem or a crime in progress

"Don't just ignore it - report it !"