A Short Round-Up of News before Christmas

Well, it’s only a couple of days to go before Christmas Day, so I thought I would update you regarding the latest bits of interesting information.

London Buses Move Over – Motorbikes Coming Through

There have been a couple of trials, each of eighteen months duration, in London, where motorcyclists were allowed to use bus lanes.  Following the successful conclusion of these trials, it has been decided to let motorcycles use bus lanes on a permanent basis from 23rd January 2012.

The majority of red bus lanes in the capital will be included in the scheme which, during the trials, helped to reduce travelling times for bikers.  About fifty thousand bikers used the bus lanes on a daily basis during the pilot, which also helped to reduce congestion.  Check by using the link http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/redroutes/10151.aspx whether your route is included.

Motorcyclists Have Their Say

Motorcyclists say that the thing that irritates them the most about car drivers is that they don’t use their indicators properly.  Swinton Insurance polled 1,000 motorcyclists about car drivers and 53% of them cited poor or no indication being the one thing that irritated them the most.  The second most popular gripe from bikers relates to cigarettes – twenty one per cent grumbled that cigarette butts have been thrown out of the car window, with nearly all of these bikers commenting about it confirming that they have been hit by a cigarette.

The third item on the list of irritations, is one which is universal amongst road users – potholes and poor road surfaces.  Eleven per cent of those motorcyclists asked commented about the state of the roads.I’m surprised that potholes and road surfaces weren’t higher up the list considering that these can cause serious accidents.

Finally

There has been a track and trial event at Portland Broadcast Quarry for riders aged nine to sixteen years.  This was the first event at the quarry which was an Enduro type endurance event lasting 2.5 hours, which pitted riders and their motorbikes against the clock.  Everyone involved appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves in this event which was designed to encourage young and older motorcyclists alike.

Good Wishes

That is about it for this week other than to hope that you have a very merry Christmas and to confirm that we will be back again next week.