Car drivers are being urged to see the person behind the helmet and take longer to look for motorcyclists in the latest THINK! motorcycle safety campaign, launched today by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond.

The £1.3m campaign, timed to coincide with the anticipated Spring increase in motorcyclists’ return to the roads, encourages drivers to take longer to look for motorcyclists and think about the biker, not just the bike.

Stephen Hammond said:

“Motorcyclists account for just 1% of traffic but 19% of deaths on Britain’s roads and 30 bikers are killed or injured in accidents at junctions every day. I am determined to reduce this terrible toll. That is why we are funding this THINK! campaign to remind drivers to look out for motorcyclists - particularly at junctions - and to see the person behind the helmet not just a motorbike."

 The campaign was informed by accident statistics, which show that motorists pulling out in front of motorcyclists is a major cause of deaths and injuries; and wider research showing that drivers are more likely to notice motorcyclists on the roads if they know a biker themselves.

Visit the THINK! website

In 2011, 5,609 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured with 74% of these occurring in accidents involving another vehicle. 69% of these casualties happened at junctions. The number of accidents increases significantly during March and April as improved weather encourages more motorcyclists onto the road.

The THINK! campaign targeting motorists will run from March to May with messages delivered through radio advertising and in petrol stations when the call to action is more closely linked to the behaviour THINK! is seeking to change. Wider awareness will be generated through TV video on demand advertising, targeting younger drivers in particular.

IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: "The IAM can welcome this report as the biggest step forward in the drug driving debate since drugs first started to feature in crashes."  

"Setting limits based on a drug's effect on driving opens up a whole new approach to enforcement and sends a very strong message that it is unacceptable to have drugs in your system behind the wheel. The IAM is also very encouraged by the panel's finding that drugs mixed with alcohol are an extra danger and the setting of lower limits when alcohol is present is very good approach. We also support the panel's finding that more research is needed such as routine blood sampling at road traffic crashes to quantify the exact level of drug driving. 

This is a complex issue and awareness raising campaigns for drivers, patients and the medical profession must be a top priority."

On Thursday 7 March 2013 the Royal Automobile Club awarded the historic Segrave Trophy to John Surtees OBE.

The 2012 Segrave Trophy citation reads: For his outstanding career in two and four wheeled motorsport, including seven motorcycle world championship titles, culminating in the unique achievement of being the only man to win a motorcycle World Championship and the Formula One World Championship.  

Speaking at the awards Tom Purves, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: "John is one of the most accomplished and versatile sportsmen of all time, winning seven motorcycle world championships and then victory in the 1964 Formula One World Championship. He is the only person in history to have won world championships on both two wheels and four yet, until today, John’s name was not on the distinguished list of Segrave Trophy winners. This award is made to John not as recognition of a lifetime of achievement, but as a, somewhat overdue, recognition of a unique sporting triumph that would, doubtlessly, have been recognised at the time had it not been for Donald Campbell who broke the land and water speed records simultaneously the same year. It is therefore our great honour to salute John’s successes, albeit perhaps a little later than we should have done”.  

Upon receiving the trophy, Surtees said “Donald Campbell achieved his success on land and water in the same year which perhaps overshadowed my having taken 4 years to put two and four wheel titles together. I am honoured, as I approach the fiftieth anniversary of my Formula One World Championship title, to receive this prestigious Trophy on behalf of not only myself but also the world of two and four wheel motorsport.”  

John started out his racing career as a passenger for his father – a top sidecar racer – and although they finished first the Surtees duo was disqualified when it was discovered that John was too young to compete within the rules. Undeterred, he began competing on motorbikes in road races, and at just 19 years old, he joined the celebrated Norton works team. Two years later he was given his break with the MV Agusta team and duly won the 500cc World Championship – the first of seven world titles he secured in just five years and which resulted in the award of an MBE.  

In 1960, Surtees mixed two wheels with four by driving in Formula Junior, F1 as well as for MV Agusta. Despite an offer in 1961 to drive for Lotus in F1, Surtees opted for a Cooper run by Reg Parnell. He moved to Ferrari in 1963 and took his first Grand Prix victory, and went on to win the F1 World Championship the next season. Surtees became the only 'Grand Master' of both two and four wheels.  

John’s career continued beyond his Formula One Championship year and in 1966, he was second in the World Championship. He has raced motor cycles and just about every type of car with remarkable success in almost every discipline: Formula One, Can-Am Championship, F2, F5000 to Le Mans. As an engineer it is widely recognized that his input was a key part of bringing success to Ferrari in 1964.  

As Vice President of the British Racing Drivers' Club and a consultant to Buckmore Park Kart Circuit, Surtees has worked tirelessly to encourage British racing talent, and was team principal for A1 Team Great Britain. In 2008 Surtees was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for 'services to motorsport and charity'. He set up the Henry Surtees Foundation in memory of his son who was tragically killed in a freak accident while driving in a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch in 2009.

The Foundation aims 'to give more young people from the community at large an opportunity to experience the emotion, disciplines and learning that the world of motorsport can offer'.  

John lives in Surrey, England.

Running through to Thursday 14th March, Ace Cafe London hosts a special Levi's vintage clothing exhibition...

commencing Hot Rod Night, Wednesday 6th March from 6pm, to include Hot Rod: Circa 1953, a Levi's vintage clothing film by Aaron Rose.

Levi’s® Vintage Clothing digs deep into the Levi’s  Archives to reproduce iconic garments from bygone eras. For Spring 2013, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing pays tribute to the golden era of the American Hot Rod, and the sharply dressed car owners and spectators who sported Levi's.    

In addition to releasing the collection of Hot Rod-inspired Levi's jeans and Sportswear, the Brand teamed up with Los Angeles-based filmmaker and curator Aaron Rose (Beautiful Losers, Art in the Streets, Sister Corita etc.) to make a short film about the origins of Hot Rod culture in Southern California back in the early 1950's. 

Rose pulled from hundreds of hours of painstakingly researched archival footage ranging from old "juvenile delinquent" movies and Life Magazine drag-race films to home movies unearthed from personal collections. He also interviewed some of the surviving founders of the scene, including legends like world champion drag-racer "TV Tommy" Ivo and master painter, cartoonist and car enthusiast Robert Williams, whose name is almost synonymous with the culture. 

The result is a striking and fast-paced film that captures the style and attitude of the uniquely American post-war subculture which continues to influence the worlds of fashion, music and mechanics to this day.    

Visit www.levisvintageclothing.com to view the collection and find an authorised shop near you.   

Energy drinks brand Monster Energy has renewed its title sponsorship of the Isle of Man TT Races in a new multi year deal. The USA based company has been the title sponsor of the world's leading road race since 2010.

The deal will see Monster Energy handed a range of high-profile benefits including the overall Presenting Sponsorship, naming rights to the two Supersport Races, presence on the official iomtt.com website, advertising around the TT control tower in the race paddock, Grandstand and Mountain Course as well as a high profile branded start gantry featuring the famous Monster 'claw'. The TT Races will continue to carry the credit ‘fuelled by Monster Energy’.

Monster Energy will also be bringing its entertainment infrastructure to the famous promenade entertainment programme with five evenings of brand-endorsed music, stunts and appearance by Monster Energy brand ambassadors including global FMX talent such as Andre Villa, in their TT Mayhem show.

The company has a high profile association with Motorsports events including presenting sponsorships of FIM Speedway Grand Prix and World Cup, Rallycross RX, FIM Motocross World Championships. Monster’s connection within the world of motorsport also includes sponsorship of the Yamaha MotoGP team, Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, the Monster Energy Factory Yamaha Motocross outfit and rally driver Ken Block. The company also supports 19-time TT race champion John McGuinness and the Yamaha factory backed Milwaukee Yamaha Superbike Team that features leading TT racers William Dunlop and Conor Cummins.

John Beasley. VP of Marketing at Monster Energy Europe commented: "The Isle of Man TT has been one of the most powerful motorsports activities for Monster Energy in Europe. The TT and its amazing fan-base never fail to inspire us through awesome levels of participation and the spectacle they manage to produce year after year. We’re really pleased to be extending the association and are looking forward to our involvement in the continued growth of the TT."

Trevor Hussey, TT and Motorsport Development Director, Isle of Man Government commented: "Monster Energy has made a major commitment to the TT Races and has become a valuable partner for us in delivering a successful event. Our commercial programme goes from strength to strength and this is epitomised by Monster Energy's commitment. We are pleased and proud to be working with them for an extended period of time."