Gary cannot get himself a protective suit yet as he is so small, so he still cannot ride on the RPU motorbikes, but he has been helping them with their training. Not all Police riding is at high speed. Today the riders have been practicing their slow riding in preparation for escorting a funeral tomorrow. It is very hard to keep the bikes balanced while riding at walking speed and takes a lot of strength, balance and concentration. The riders were very tired at the end of their practice but needed to go back on patrol.

Drivers should never start their journeys tired as this can lead to accidents. In fact the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) believe that fatigue is responsible for about 1 in every 5 collisions on our roads. One of the most memorable cases was the Selby rail crash caused by a man driving his Landrover when he was far too tired. He crashed it off the motorway and onto a railway line which then caused the train to crash too killing lots of people. The driver went to prison for a long time.

You can read more valuable information about accident causes and accident prevention on the ROSPA website www.rospa.com

As motorcyclists are more vulnerable than car and van drivers, before they could go back out on patrol the RPU motorcyclists stopped for some tea and coffee with Gary at a local café.

Tomorrow's funeral will be a big day for some of the motorcyclists and so after cleaning their bikes and polishing their leather boots they will be going to bed early so as to be fit for duty in the morning.

Gary is tired too, all that walking alongside the bikes has worn him out as well. He will have a very special job to do in the morning but he doesn't know it yet !

Gary says - "Don't drive tired - pull over and take a rest"

Good night Gary - sleep well little bear.