MOTORCYCLISTS gained valuable hints and tips about road safety from experienced riders at the third Raise Your Ride event of 2022 in Yeovil. 

Raise Your Ride, an initative run by Somerset Road Safety (county council) in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, aims to reduce motorcyclist casualties through its sessions. 

Its third event of the year was held at Bransons Motorcycles in Yeovil and saw 14 riders take to the roads to learn about the police system of advanced riding from serving or retired police advanced motorcyclists.

The event took place on Sunday, June 19, and several of the riders have expressed an interest in taking on further training with other organisations including IAM RoadSmart.

Motorcyclists represent around 21 to 23 per cent of road casualties, despite accounting for only one to two per cent of road traffic, depending on the weather and time of year.

Somerset County Council’s executive lead member for transport and digital, councillor Mike Rigby, said: “Unfortunately, the statistics speak for themselves as motorcyclists are disproportionately represented in road casualties.

“This is why working on initiatives like this, alongside our longstanding partners at Avon and Somerset Police, is critical.

“The safety of our road users is paramount, and I would recommend getting involved if you are a motorcyclist.

“Our Road Safety Team work across the county with the objective of making roads safer for use and Raise Your Ride plays an important role in ensuring progress is made.”

Raise Your Ride events are run out of motorcycle dealer venues where possible. 

Previous Somerset venues have included Grahams Motorcycles Ltd Taunton and Brumers Bike in Wellington.

The next Somerset event is to be held on Sunday, September 11 in Bridgwater.

For more information, visit www.raiseyourride.co.uk or contact Somerset Road Safety.