While one in six deaths on our roads are caused by drivers over the legal alcohol limit, motorcyclists are half as likely as other motorists to take the risk of drinking before riding, according to the MCI, marking the start of Road Safety Week 2009 (1).

The latest analysis of drink-drive statistics show that in 2008, of the motorcycle riders tested following an accident, 1.4 per cent failed a breathalyser test compared to an average of 2.7 per cent for all road user casualties as a whole (2).

The MCI is supporting Road Safety Week 2009's call to all road users to commit to not drink even a drop of alcohol before driving, nor consume any other illegal drug, to help reduce the number of accidents and casualties on British roads.

For road users as a whole, the group most likely to drink and drive were those under 17, with 11.8 per cent of young people in this age band failing the test. Only 1.2 per cent of these positive tests were given by young motorcyclists.

Motorcyclists aged between 20 and 24 were most likely to fail a breath test, with 2.4 per cent of tests taken by riders in this age band positive for alcohol. However, this figure is still less than half that of the average for all road users between 20 and 24, of whom 5 per cent gave a breath test positive for alcohol.

In 2007, at least 15,935 people in the UK were killed or hurt by drink and drug-drivers. That's: 1,328 people every month, 306 people every week, 44 people every day, 2 people every hour.

In 2007, 478 people were killed by drivers over the drink-drive limit in the UK. Women are much less likely than men to cause drink drive crashes. However, nearly a third of the casualties in drink drive crashes are women; often passengers in cars driven by young men.Nearly one in six convicted drink-drivers are caught the morning after.

The MCI advises:

* Never drink any amount of alcohol if you're riding. You don't have to be over the limit for your skills to be impaired.

* Never drink late at night if you're riding early the next morning. If you get caught out later than you thought, take the bus or go pillion next morning.

* Don't let mates drink and ride.

* Don't hassle anyone into accepting a drink they don't want.

Sheila Rainger, MCI Director of Communications, said, "The demands of riding a motorcycle are greater than those of driving a car and it is good to see the majority of motorcyclists recognizing this fact by refusing to mix drinking and riding.

"However, there is no room for complacency. As vulnerable road users, motorcyclists need to stay sharp. The MCI is backing the Road Safety Week 2009 call to all riders to commit to 'not a drop, not a drag' before starting the engine, and as Christmas party season approaches, urging riders to be aware that alcohol can stay in your system well into the morning after."
1) www.roadsafetyweek.org
2) DfT; Compendium of Motorcycling Statistics 2009
3) Other statistics supplied by Brake

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  Also at Screamin Kiwi stall at Rivington Barn on a Sunday and at Speedstyle, at Squires Cafe.

Teaming up to produce a range of Limited Edition clothing, the Anglo-American partnership of Ace Cafe London and Schott NYC includes the seminal Schott Perfecto leather jacket, famously worn by Marlon Brando's "Johnny" in the 1953 film "The Wild One".  The increased visibility of the Perfecto jacket in this ground-breaking film and its subsequent popularity at the time, initially resulted in a decrease in sales!  Like the film, which was banned in the UK for fourteen years by the British Board of Film Censors, these jackets were also banned by many schools in the USA because they were considered to symbolise a burgeoning, and what was regarded as an increasingly dangerous teenage demographic.

In 1955, the Perfecto was catapulted to the height of its popularity when a love of speed ended the life of teen idol James Dean.  It was said at the time that he was hardly ever seen in any other jacket, and that they seemed to be made for each other.

Ace Cafe London's Mark Wilsmore, who has owned one of these jackets for years said, "Being a motorcyclist and enthusiastic collector of iconography relating to motorcycles, a Schott jacket was a must.  We are very excited to be working with a company with such heritage".

In 1928, Irving Schott crafted his first motorcycle jacket for Beck distributors in Long Island, New York.  Durable and rugged, it was immediately embraced by the new generation of "bikers" as a symbol of the excitement, adventure and danger that fuelled their fascination with motorcycles. It retailed for $5.50!  Soon after, Irving introduced a line of jackets under the Perfecto brand, named after his favourite cigar.  Since the early fifties, only the top of the line Schott motorcycle jackets carry the Perfecto label. Quality, innovation and individuality were the ideals of Irving Schott, and four generations on, the tradition continues from the core one hundred year old factory in Staten Island, New York.

Made from deluxe heavy steerhide, the Perfecto is 24" long and features a belted front, bi-swing back, underarm ventilation, zippered pockets and sleeves and an insulated nylon quilted lining. The standard classic Schott Perfecto at £480 and the special Limited Edition Ace/Schott Custom Perfecto (the only Schott jacket with a half-zippered lining making it easier to sew on patches without damaging the leather) jacket at £550; which comes with a set of Ace Cafe London badges, are both available from the Ace Cafe London web shop.

Julian Ritchie of Schott said, "We at Schott are very pleased to be working jointly on exclusive products with Ace Cafe London, the first of which is the Perfecto Custom - a collaboration between two great names in motorcycling history.  Both companies have their roots in a culture in which the Perfecto jacket has become an icon in its own right and Schott are proud to be part of the Ace Cafe and its culture."

Check them out on the webshop's Featured Brands Section

In the run-up to the BMF’s 50th anniversary next year, ‘yes we can, indeed we must’, perhaps best sums up the underlying message from this year’s British Motorcyclists Federation’s Annual General Meeting.
 
Held in Tuddenham, Norfolk, in the BMF’s Eastern Region, members and delegates from BMF clubs heard that while the BMF’s lobbying work was highly regarded and the BMF still had a reputation to be proud of, membership, in line with that of many other membership organisations, was falling and so therefore was its income.
 
The BMF’s portfolio of shows and events, although continuing to produce a profit, had not reached their projected figures either and this had only compounded the situation said Anna Zee, the BMF’s chairman.
 
Addressing the latter, Martin Chick, the MD of the Mulberry Group, the BMF’s new event contractor, said that the BMF had a powerful brand but it was not being used to its best advantage. “As a motorcyclist, my passion for and love of motorcycling will be very much at the forefront of the Mulberry Group's approach to BMF events. I know what motorcycling means to people and I know what makes a good event, but equally, I want to improve the image of the BMF and we’ll help to do that by delivering on our promises.”
 
BMF Chairman Anna Zee agreed and in thanking the BMF’s outgoing event contractors, Live Promotions, said that they had come in three years ago at a very difficult time for the BMF but now the BMF was looking to improve its own performance too and considered that Mulberry had much to offer as a partner in this mission.
 
On a similar theme, Dorian Burrows of the BMF’s Marketing Committee stressed the need for broadening the BMF’s appeal. Communication was key to involving existing members and reaching out to all motorcyclists he said, but the message had to be right and it had to be relevant to today’s more informed motorcyclists.
 
As a way of streamlining BMF operations, the meeting was told that the posts of Affiliate Member Services and Individual Member Services had been amalgamated into one and that a separate post of Events Director had therefore been created. Pete Laidlaw was duly elected to the new post of Member Services Director and Tony Young was elected to the new post of Events Director. The post of chairman was uncontested with Anna Zee being elected for another year.