Humanising motorcyclists is the key to making roads safer for them – a fact recognised by a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award – sponsored by the MCI.

The recipient of the award is ‘Someone’s Son’ - a campaign which aims to humanise and personalise the motorcyclist/driver relationship, run by the Safer Roads Partnerships of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humber. Research has identified that drivers who are, or who know, a motorcyclist, are less likely to be involved in a collision with one.* 

Statistically, the vast majority of rider casualties are male, who will by definition be someone’s son (or husband or dad...) – hence the name of the campaign, though women motorcyclists feature too. 

32,000 riders have received information leaflets via a popular biking magazine and a thousand high visibility vests have been distributed, with slogans representing all manner of human relationships, chosen by the riders: ‘Someone’s Son’, ‘Someone’s Mother’, ‘Someone’s best mate’.   

The campaign combines radio adverts with a ‘living’ reminder of on-road riders in their personalised hi-viz. vests. Urban junctions are the most common place for accidents between drivers and riders to occur, often in 30 mph zones. 

It is sometimes difficult to work out who is to ‘blame’ in these types of crashes, so the ‘Someone’s Son’ campaign has been developed to raise awareness and encourage drivers and riders to look out for each other. 

Drivers are encouraged to be especially careful at junctions and roundabouts and riders are urged to give drivers the chance to see them through good road positioning, appropriate speed and by wearing high visibility gear. The awards and MCI involvement The Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards are the equivalent of the Oscars in road safety communities. 

Each year outstanding examples of international road safety initiatives are given public recognition through the scheme. The MCI has been involved with the awards for a number of years.  Karen Cole, Safety and Training Director of the MCI is a member of the board that choose the winners and recommended ‘Someone’s Son’, which she explained is ‘A brilliant way of making sure drivers see motorcyclists’.  She explained further, ‘Personalising motorcyclists in this way is much more effective than issuing generic messages. The campaign is continually reinforced by the presence of those riders in the Yorkshire and Humber areas wearing their high- viz. vests with slogans’.

This is a very cost efficient way of delivering an effective road safety message, according to David Glanville of Safer Roads West Yorkshire who explained, ‘We recognise that we all share a common problem and by pooling our resources we were able to deliver a bigger campaign across a wide area at the lowest possible cost’.

www.someones-son.co.uk

*Research comes from The Department for Transport’s Road Safety Research Report 85 Car Drivers’ Skills and Attitudes to Motorcycle Safety: A Review, 2008, (p38).

This year's was the biggest and best ever… fact! Here are some top line facts and figures.

Early calculations show the 2012 number of visitors to be 58,000. This is a conservative figure and could be closer to 60,000 when the final count is confirmed. (2011 figure was 50,000). This is the highest figure ever. Show also had best opening day ever.

Quote from Andy Rouse, Show Manager: “We are totally blown away by the number of visitors for this year. It’s exceeded all our expectations and reflects the growth and strength of the classic motoring movement. Feedback from the clubs, traders and visitors has been fantastic. The new layout worked well and we’ll use any feedback to develop the show for 2013. With a show of this scale and with the number of visitors attending, its always our priority to improve the way visitors can move around the show to enjoy all the exhibits.”

The inaugural Silverstone Auction total sale value: £1.1m with over 60% converted to new owners. Post auction deals are still under discussion. The Fiat 500’s, both guided below £8,000 each made over £15,000. The Aston Martin DB4 reached £224,000. A fantastic price, albeit a beautiful car.

Number of Dream Rides given during the show: gave approx 1,000 rides and raised £30,000 plus gift aid which should give a minimum final total of £35,000. The Bears reached the million pound target after a £20 donation for a ride in a Bristol from dream ride regular Colin Padley from Dagenham. From small donations over the years Colin has donated £1,000 so fitting he won a ride around Silverstone in a Ferrari racing car.

Winner of Meguiar's Club Showcase final: 1972 Volkswagon Beetle 1200 Deluxe owned by Wayne McCarthy from Ireland. Only five points separated the top four.

Wheeler Dealer Live Stage with Mike Brewer and Edd China – restored a 1960 Morris Minor Pick Up. Special guests: Sir Stirling Moss, TT Riders Guy Martin and Mick Grant, Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie, comedian Steve Coogan, actress Natalie J Robb, Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis and Motoring Journalists/presenters Quentin Wilson and Tiff Needell.

2013 dates – 15-17 November 2013.

Amount of floor space – 82,000 square metres (last year 70,000) Halls: 11 (Halls 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, and 20) Number of clubs: 250 Number of cars:  approx. 1,500 Number of bikes: approx. 300 Number of Exhibitors: over 520. Number of Car Dealers:  approx 43

Thank you for a great day at the Classic Bike show

Amanda & Dave Beeson

As motorcyclists we all know the amount of fundraising events for good causes and charities that goes on each year that are organised and run by motorcyclists, clubs and motorcycle organisations. 

In Northern Ireland riders raise thousands of pounds each year for these various causes from Children’s Wards, Christmas Appeals, MRI Scanner Appeals, Dog Homes, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the NABD (National Association of Bikers with a Disability) and many more.      

These events are replicated across the UK, but this time, funding raising with a difference has reach our inbox from the Boundary 500 Motorcycle group based in England.      

The group has received the blessing of pre-eminent folk duo The Proclaimers and now look set to launch one of the year’s most unlikely attempts at making the pop charts.      

The Boundary 500 Motorcycle group has enlisted the help of North-East band The Happy Cats, fronted by ex-Lindisfarne vocalist Marty Craggs, in re-recording I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers’ signature song.  Sales of the song will raise money for two of the region’s best-loved charities, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice.

The lyrics of the song have been changed to reflect the bikers’ dedication to the two causes, and the song itself has been given the new title I’m Gonna Ride 500 Miles.   Brian Laverick, leader of the Boundary 500 group, said: “It’s been a lot of hard work putting this together, but the end product is something I think we can be really proud of. We even got the thumbs up from The Proclaimers themselves. Song sales of about 3,000 in the week should see us enter the top 40 which would be a phenomenal achievement in itself, but would also raise lots of money for these two great charities.”  

Mark Guidery, chief executive at Zoë’s Place, said: “Brian and his group continue to amaze us with their fundraising efforts. We hope residents of the region get behind the group’s latest efforts and provide a real boost to our fundraising in the run up to Christmas.”  

Grahame Pickering, chief executive of GNAAS, said: “The charities get a donation for every single sold, so we are hoping all our supporters get behind this fantastic fundraiser.”   The Boundary 500 Motorcycle Group was formed in June 2006 and was established primarily to support GNAAS and later added to its nominated charities Zoë's Baby Hospice.  

The Group takes its name from the approximate distance around the boundary area of the air ambulance charity. Every year, bikers from the group ride the 500 mile journey to boost fundraising. It has raised more than £310,000 for GNAAS and £106,000 for Zoë’s Place since it began.  

In a statement, Charlie and Craig Reid, of the Proclaimers, said: “Our very best wishes to the Happy Cats’ and everyone in the Boundary 500”  

 The song is available for 79p via iTunes and in CD and DVD format for £3 at www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/shop

At Right To Ride we think that the Boundary 500 may be on to a hit with the recording of the Proclaimers 500 miles/bikes.

The Boundary 500 say, “Please help us make this a Christmas number 1.”   Information   The Groups next major event is on Saturday 8th December 2012 when they hold their annual 22 miles Motorcycle Santa Ride for Zoë's Baby Hospice.

Further details are on the Groups web site.   www.boundary500.co.uk

THE BIKER GUIDE® is pleased to announce as of the 16th November, 2012 the name and brand has been trademarked.

To secure THE BIKER GUIDE® name, brand and ethos we registered with the Trade Marks Registry on 15th June, 2012 and after a 3 month wait are delighted to announce that we can now officially use the ® sign and also avoid others from using our good name.

What is a brand?

A brand is a 'promise of an experience' and conveys to consumers a certain assurance as to the nature of the product or service they will receive. Intellectual property rights provide legal protection for some of the most important aspects of a brand.

Registered under Class 35:

Advertising; business management; business administration; advertising services provided via the Internet and printed publications; production of television and radio advertisements; trade fairs; opinion polling; data processing; provision of business information; compilation of directories for publishing on global computer networks or the internet.