ESSEX: 185mph BMW S1000RR superbike safety initiative launched
MOTORCYCLISTS speeding along a notorious road through the Essex countryside may find themselves being hastily caught up by the latest road safety deterrent – a 185mph FireBike .
MOTORCYCLISTS speeding along a notorious road through the Essex countryside may find themselves being hastily caught up by the latest road safety deterrent - a 185mph 'FireBike'.
Stretching from Ongar to Finchingfield, the B184 and the B1057 have become synonymous with biker ride-outs, some of which consider the route to be a type of 'track'.
In early 2008 speeding bikers were targeted by police when helicopter signs were introduced along the route to warn of overhead speed gunning from the air.
Now the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has stepped up the effort to educate motorcyclists on the dangers of the road in a bid to keep riders and their passengers safe.
A campaign called FireBike has been re-launched ahead of this year's motorcycle season featuring as one of its two bikes the fastest production motorbike on the roads today - the BMW S1000RR.
A spokesman for the service said: "The aim is to make motorcyclists think about the best ways to keep themselves, and their passengers, safe on the roads. After planning and preparation through the winter months FireBike2010 is now ready to go and will be taking to the roads to spread the message."
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Husband and wife team, Sue and Bill Cannon from Braintree, have loaned the top of the range bike to the service for the second year running as a way of attracting the attention of motorbike enthusiasts to the scheme.
FireBike2010 riders are operational firefighters qualified to at least RoSPA Gold motorcyclist standard. They will use their experiences as both firefighters attending RTC's, and as motorcycle enthusiasts themselves, to engage with riders and their pillion passengers at motorcycle venues and events throughout Essex through the coming months
FireBike2010 Team Manager, David Hadjicostas, said: "We are using the public perception of the fire service - we are here to help and save lives - to signpost motorcyclists and their passengers to better training and the right level of protective equipment, because they are our largest 'killed or seriously injured' group and entirely disproportionate to any other road user."
He added: "You are 35 times more likely to be killed on a motorbike than any other form of transport."
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