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BMF
THE BRITISH MOTORCYCLISTS FEDERATION
NORTH WALES POLICE GET THE MESSAGE
A protest ride against the harsh policing tactics employed on motorcyclists by North Wales Police, really struck a chord over the weekend when over 500 riders joined a fifteen-mile protest run from Denbigh to Police headquarters at Colwyn Bay.
Yesterday's run, organised by Alan Shepherd, MD of A&D Motorcycles, Denbigh, and supported by the BMF, was designed to get a more even-handed approach to the problem of reducing motorcycle accidents in North Wales where already, 12 motorcyclists have been killed this year.
Not normally known for direct action, the 140,000 strong British Motorcyclists Federation nevertheless backed this particular protest following a growing number of complaints about the way random stop-checks were being conducted, and in this respect at least, the protest seems to have worked.
Receiving a 50-man delegation from the protestors, Deputy Chief Constable Bill Brereton (himself a motorcyclist) heard many riders complain of an over-concentration on small number plates and illegal exhausts while the real issue of accident reduction was missed. But at least over the issue of inordinately long stop-checks, (one rider being kept waiting for 1 hour 20 minutes), Mr Brereton agreed that this was too long and said that in future riders would have a maximum of a 10 minute wait.
Commenting Alan Shepherd said, "We all want to see casualties in North Wales reduced but the answer lies in education and persuasion directed at the minority of people who are riding badly - not persecution of everyone on two wheels."
For the BMF's part, Keith Taylor, Regional Chairman and a member of the police-backed North Wales Alliance, said: "The protest showed the strength of feeling on this. We accept the police have a responsibility for road safety but what we want them to understand is that most motorcyclists are law-abiding. Prosecute the dangerous and the reckless by all means, but don't persecute us all."
The BMF will continue to work with the police to address the issue of motorcycle related accidents but hope that this peaceful protest run has emphasised the fact that motorcyclists are aggrieved that simply by riding a motorcycle, they are being treated like criminal suspects.
Jeff Stone:
t: 0121 709 1040
f: 0121 705 8784
e: jeff.stone@bmf.co.uk
Details on this and other BMF activities can also be found on our web site : www.bmf.co.uk
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