National Bikesafe Show 2009
Added on Monday, June 15th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
National Bikesafe Show 2009
This year the National Bikesae Show will be hosted for the second year running by the Metropolitan Police in London.
The show will take place at the Metropolitan Police Training School (Peel Centre), Aerodrome Road, Hendon, NW9 5JE on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June 2009. Entry to the show and parking are both FREE with ample facilities for thousands of vehicles to park on site. The doors open at 10am and close at 5pm each day.
BikeSafe is an initiative run by UK police forces to promote better biking and improve the safety of motorcyclists on the roads. Motorcyclists make up less than 2% of vehicle traffic but unfortunately make up nearly a quarter of all the persons either killed or seriously injured.
Hendon is the home of the world-renowned Metropolitan Police Training School and joining us during the weekend will be many specialist departments from within the Met Police, together with colleagues from the Ambulance and Fire Service who will conduct a real time casualty extraction once a day.
It promises to be an interesting and exciting event for all manner of biker with entertainment for their families too. So come along and see what we do, we promise you won’t regret making the trip.
So far we have the following attractions booked for your entertainment:
- A wide variety of demonstration bikes to ride from the main motorcycle manufacturers
- Scooter try outs courtesy of North London Motorcycle Training Centre
- Free assessed BikeSafe Rider Skills rides using either your own bike or borrowing a manufactures machine (book a ride on the day)
- Local motorcycle/scooter dealers
- The Royal Signals White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team
- Trade stands selling clothing and accessories
- Motorcycle owners clubs
- Mattie Griffin of MG Stuntriding
- Food and drinks outlets - at subsidised prices
- Classic bikes
- Police Historic Vehicle Fleet
- Met Police Driving School car skid pan demonstration sessions
- Police dog displays
- Police horses
- Police and air ambulance (HEMS) helicopters
- London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service (with exciting and informative full interactive Road Traffic Collision displays by all three Emergency Services)
- Seated auditorium for lectures using the National Bikesafe DVD
- Motorcycle wall of death
- East Coast FMX stunt display
- Members of the Met’s Special Escort Group, CO19 Firearms Section, the Territorial Support Group and many more …….
The list is growing on a daily basis and will be updated as more people confirm their attendance
The majority of motorcycle manufacturers will be there to promote their products and provide bikes for free ride-outs (please make sure you bring your driving licence - card and counterpart). So whether you want to be assessed on your own machine or the model of bike you always wanted to own, there will be a police officer ready to see how you do and give you honest feedback.
In addition to manufacturers, we will have local dealers, training organisations and motorcycle related clothing and safety equipment for sale. There will be Government and road safety organisations such as the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and Driving Standards Agency (DSA) together with the British Motorcyclist Federation (BMF), the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) and other pressure groups.
There will be a lot of other things to see and do for all the family, not just motorcyclists. We have a 10m square screen to view the BSB round at Snetterton and have also ordered 12 hours of sunshine each day too (although unfortunately that cannot be guaranteed)!
Chief Inspector Dave McLaren from the Met Police Traffic Unit said: “This event is a must for motorcycling enthusiasts and promises opportunities for riders to learn about the latest developments and gain some new biking skills. There will also be plenty of fun activities and entertainment for the biking novice - a great day out for all the family.”
We have the approval and full support of the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) and motorcycle manufacturers. As Karen Cooke of the MCIA said, “Bikesafe is ‘Bridging the Gap’ from passing a test to post-test training. It provides an invaluable opportunity for people to learn about their capabilities with the support of experts.”
We are extremely grateful to Transport for London for their continued financial and administrative support this year too as, without their input, there simply would not be a show. Chris Lines, Head of the London Road Safety Unit said, ‘I am really pleased that Transport for London and the London Safety Camera Partnership are sponsoring the National BikeSafe show for the second year running’.
‘We are committed to reducing the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on London’s roads. BikeSafe-London plays an important role in educating motorcyclists on safer road behaviours and we look forward to building upon the success of BikeSafe London in the future’.
The National BikeSafe Event was first hosted in 2002 by West Mercia Constabulary at the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire. It then moved the following year to the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon hosted by Warwickshire Police, who hosted it again in 2004. 2005 to 2007 saw Gloucestershire Constabulary as the hosts and the show was held at Cheltenham Racecourse.
It has developed and grown over time and in 2008, with the Met at the helm, over 17,000 people visited The Peel Estate during the two days even though the weather on the Saturday was atrocious with driving rain and gale force winds. With the Sunday brightening up, over 300 assessed rides were carried out and over 75 BikeSafe officers from around the country were available to go out with bikers and assess their skills. The feedback received showed overwhelming support for the planning team and was deemed as a ‘must see’ event.
For updates on the show please see our website www.bikesafe.co.uk
National BikeSafe Show email address nationalshow2009@bikesafe.co.uk
National BikeSafe Show telephone number 07768 290675
For details of BikeSafe-London please see our website www.bikesafe-london.co.uk
