Next month’s 50th bmf show with major manufacturers back in a big way, is looking to be one of the best shows in the bmf’s long history.

The bmf show, Europe’s largest outdoor motorcycle show, is just over four weeks away now and for thousands of motorcyclists the traditional season-opener is looking good with brand new features and plenty of new attractions!

Peterborough’s East of England Showground is set to come alive as major manufacturers turn out in force, some even offering test rides from the showground on all their latest models. BMW, Suzuki and Kawasaki, will all have their demo test fleets on site keen to let potential customers try what they have to offer.

Not to be outdone though, Triumph will have their full range of bikes and clothing on display as will Norton, buoyed by their first customer deliveries and Victory Motorcycles, making serious headway on the cruiser front, will also have their full ranges on display. (Latest news is that Aprilia and Moto Guzzi may also be exhibiting…).

Tempted or not, all showgoers will still get the chance to win a brand new bike, worth up to  £9,000, in a special raffle – special because this time the winner will have a choice of three bikes to choose from!

Amongst hundreds of trade stalls covering all aspects of motorcycling will be big names such as Hein Gericke, Frank Thomas, Oxford Products, George White and Biker’s World as well as the likes of M&P Direct, Powerbronze, Scott Leathers and a whole host of smaller traders offering virtually anything and everything for the keen rider.

New for this year (and a first at any bike show), will be an on-site ‘Wrap it and Despatch it’ service run by the national courier company APC. No longer will riders have to laden their bikes (or even take a car) because now APC can wrap and despatch goods and guarantee to deliver to home addresses within 48 hours of the show finishing!

Meanwhile arena entertainment over the weekend features a stunning line up of performances from Jason Smyth – The Adrenalin Tour, The Stanage International stunt display team and of course, old favourites the madness that is Moped Enduro and the thrills of Short Track racing.

For those camping over the weekend, evening entertainment gets a new twist with the well known ‘Smacked Arse Comedy Club’ appearing for the first time, featuring adult comedy from a range of stand-up comedians, plus live music from Stingray, Trash Monkey, Hooker and headline acts, Boot Led-Zeppelin and Killer Queen.

The bmf show and camping is open to everyone but for bmf members, they get special VIP treatment with reduced admission, a new ‘Fast Track’ entrance, a ‘members only’ area with its own refreshment facilities and discount vouchers for use at the show.

Health for All operates in NTT (Nusa Tengara Timur) which is the province which despite major improvement still shows the highest rate of death rate for mothers in Indonesia. The result of a National Health Survey in 2004 showed that in Indonesia as a whole the death rate of mothers reached 307 per 100,000 live births. NTT had a rate of 554 per 100,000 live births.

In 2007, the Health Demographics in Indonesia showed the national decrease reached 208 per 100,000 while in NTT 306 per 100,000 live births. Although the NTT rate had decreased it was still higher than other provinces.

By way of comparison the rate for the United States in 2005 is 11 per 100,000. Further information on this topic can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_death

The infant mortality rate in 2004 in Indonesia was 52 per 1000 born alive while in NTT there was an improvement from 62 to 57 per 1000 born alive.

The result of Basic Health Research in 2007 showed that in NTT 77,1 % of delivery services were done at homes, 6,9 % in government hospitals, 6,5 % at public health or sub public health centres, 3,5 % at village maternity houses, 3,0 % in maternity private hospitals and 0,7 % at other places.

Basic health research in 2007 shows that 46,2 % delivery were done by trained traditional midwives, 36,5 % by midwives, 11,5 % by the member of the family, 4,1 % by doctors, 1,2 % by medical staff and 0,5 % by others.

From the facts above it is clear that many births take place with no health facilities. Woman’s mortality is caused by unskilled medical staff and unsterile equipments. A causal factor of infant and maternal mortalities is the minimum means of transportation. This applies both to the families and also to the medical staff who lack the means to reach remote areas.

Ideally, during the pregnancy period, a mother should get a health check-up and service called Ante Natal Care (ANC). Ante Natal Care is given to an expectant mother during pregnancy according to the standard of midwifery service. This includes the measuring weight and height blood pressure, measuring fundus uteri height and checking tetanus imunisation status and toksoid tetanus, giving minimum go ferum blets during pregnancy, routine and specific laboratory check-up.There are typically four check-ups, minimum once in the first 3 month, once during the second three months and twice in the third three months.

Due to the condition of NTT and the island's hilly topography in general women do not get the standard health check-ups during pregnancy. One way the health service solves this problem is by providing motorcycles for the use of health staff. The motorcycle is chosen since this means of transportation is capable to reach the remote areas.

Warwickshire Road Safety Unit have collated vital casualty statistics for road users across the county and identified a clear need for rider training amongst young and inexperienced moped and motorcycle riders.

Information taken from reports for every reported road traffic injury collision over a two year period shows that:

·          More than a third of all mopeds and motorcycles involved in injury collisions were ridden by under 21 year olds.

·          One in every five collisions where moped and motorcycle riders were considered most blameworthy, were attributed to learner, inexperienced or nervous riders.

·          Nearly a quarter of all fatal or serious injury collisions involving a moped or motorcycle rider, involved no other vehicle.

Road Safety Officer, Stephen Rumble has analysed the findings and said; “Moped and motorcycle riders are always going to be at greater risk because bikes afford them no or very little protection compared to other vehicles. But our research clearly shows that young and inexperienced riders, particularly males aged 16 to 20, still represent a disproportionately large number of Warwickshire’s casualties. The findings are also reasonably consistent in our neighbouring West Mercia counties. Unfortunately, some young riders are over-confident, ride as if they are immortal and they are hard to influence. However, many do acknowledge their vulnerability and inexperience as road users and we can now offer free and friendly rider training to help them to be safer on two wheels“.

In a joint initiative, Warwickshire together with, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin have recently re-launched the hugely successful Take Control rider training scheme and three of the five courses available are tailored to meet the needs of young riders. ‘CBT Plus’ is an ideal follow on from Compulsory Basic Training, whilst ‘Auto to Gears’ helps moped riders to progress to riding geared 125cc bikes. The ‘125 Rider Development’ course is a half-day session for riders new to 125cc bikes who are keen to develop their riding skills. 

Stephen Rumble continues; " All of the courses last just a few hours and there is no pressure to pass a test or achieve a minimum standard. Our instructors simply offer a helpful assessment and riders can complete the courses close to home on roads that they use regularly. We also have an exclusive moped and motorcycle insurance deal with British Superbikes official title partners, MCE Insurance for Take Control participants."

For more information, go to www.takecontroltraining.co.uk

To book a free young rider course, call 0845 370 91 91.