|
 |
 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: UK: England | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Wednesday, 26 September, 2001, 05:37 GMT 06:37 UK Police bikers step up power  An unmarked Yamaha XJR1300 is going out on patrol Police in Devon and Cornwall are stepping up their power to act against dangerous motorcyclists - with two 1300cc patrol bikes. One of the high-performance Yamahas - far more powerful than normal patrol bikes - will go out without police markings. It will also have a video camera mounted on it. The Norfolk force has made a similar move, putting police markings on a Suzuki 1300cc Hayabusa, the world's fastest production bike. The Devon and Cornwall campaign follows a rise in the number of bikers dying on the region's roads. Rusty riders Last year 20 motorcyclists made up a quarter of the people killed on roads in the two counties. Nearly all were aged over 25. Middle-aged riders returning to two wheels on more expensive machines are at risk because their skills are rusty and their reactions slow.
A spokesman said the force was not trying to spoil riders' enjoyment but it wanted to reduce the death toll. This month the force released video film shot by a biker with a camera mounted on his own fuel tank. Andrew Kitt of St Austell filmed himself speeding, pulling wheelies and overtaking other vehicles on blind bends. Two weeks later, on 6 May 2001, the 28-year-old died in a collision. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top England stories now:  Links to more England stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more England stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend