Information Police in Wales target Bikers again .....!

Japarley

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
32
Reaction score
15
Points
8
Location
uk
Visit site





Police track six times more weekend bikers across Mid Wales
By Rory Smith | Mid Wales | Crime | Published: Jul 25, 2020

Police are using live data to track the busiest areas across Mid Wales as six times more bikers take to the roads over summer weekends.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter




BDJF2TJRUVEHPCTEJWWTFTZ6M4.jpg


Technology under trunk roads across the country is feeding police with patterns of vehicle movements as they happen, allowing officers to be strategically placed at traffic hotspots.

Figures issued by Dyfed-Powys Police show that over the past two weekends, there have been six times more bikers on the roads compared with weekdays.

With a concern that increased traffic could result in higher numbers of collisions, police have adopted a combination of technology-led and traditional enforcement tactics to reduce this risk.

This approach has already seen a drop in the number of collisions involving motorbikes.

Chief Inspector Tom Sharville said: “With the recent easing of lockdown restrictions on travel in Wales, we have seen a significant but not surprising increase of bikers using our roads over the past two weekends.

“If you compare the numbers we’ve seen on the roads over the past two weekends – around 22,000 on the first Saturday, rising to nearly 27,000 on the Sunday – with an average weekday of about 4,500 bikes in a day, we’re looking at six times as many bikers on the road.

“The number of collisions involving bikes during the first weekend saw a demand on resources that had not been there in previous weekends during lockdown.

“To combat this, we’ve been looking at different ways of working to ensure the safety of bikers, who are our most vulnerable group of road users.”

A joint approach to roads policing will continue to be taken by Dyfed-Powys Police, the three other Welsh forces and the Welsh Government in coming weeks, as road safety campaign Operation Darwen is in full swing.
Deploy
Live time data from loop sensors beneath trunk roads is broken down to the location of motorbikes and fed to Roads Policing Unit supervisors. This allows them to swiftly deploy high visibility resources to areas with the highest concentration of bikers.

The use of technology to plot police vehicles is also being used simultaneously with North Wales Police to monitor where available officers are located, so they can be deployed with maximum impact.



Mr Sharville added: “Operation Darwen is not about targeting bikers, or trying to catch them out – rather it focusses on ensuring the safety of riders in Wales.

“It is a fluid operation, with plans changing as we keep an eye on conditions such as the weather forecast, and officers being quickly moved across the force area to meet demand.

“Using a combination of technology and traditional enforcement tactics, we are able to ensure a high visibility presence in the area it’s most needed and increasing the safety of bikers and drivers.

“This way of working reduced the number of collisions involving bikers from five the weekend before last to just one last weekend.

“We will continue to be flexible in our approach to roads policing, and through our joint approach with partners help to keep all road users safe this summer.”
o_O
 

Japarley

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
32
Reaction score
15
Points
8
Location
uk
Visit site
This was 2009 the last time they targeted bikers


3,000 bikers 'reclaim North Wales'
BIKERS descended on North Wales in their thousands to campaign against “heavy handed” policing.



Bikers at the ponderosa Cafe, Llangollen, for the reclaim North Wales bike ride
Bikers at the ponderosa Cafe, Llangollen, for the reclaim North Wales bike ride
BIKERS descended on North Wales in their thousands to campaign against “heavy-handed” policing.
The mass ride saw up to 3,000 motorcyclists ride through the region to display their anger at “over-zealous” officers.
Police said the day passed off well but said there were five crashes connected to bikers attending the rally.
One smash saw a motorcyclist airlifted to Wrexham Maelor Hospital by the Wales Air Ambulance after a crash on the A494 between Bala and Corwen in the village of Bethel. His injuries were described as serious but not life threatening.
The rally to “reclaim” the roads follows a campaign spurred by the magazine Motorcycle News.
Steve Farrell, from Motorcycle News, said: “The turnout has been amazing.
“It shows how strongly motorcyclists feel at being unfairly targeted by North Wales Police.”
Bikers met at two points in North Wales, the Dragon’s Rest cafe in Caerwys, and the Ponderosa cafe on the Horseshoe Pass. They then rode to Swallow Falls Hotel car park in Betws y Coed for 4pm. They were sent in smaller convoys along the A55 to prevent riders clogging up the busy dual carriageway.
Biker David Worthington, 48, from Kinmel Bay, said: “It was heaving at Ponderosa, there were thousands of bikers there. I hope this gets the message across to North Wales Police.”
Rally supporter Sue Charles said: “I am totally behind them because the police are out of order the way they are over-zealous in targeting motorists and bikers. I am just pleased someone is doing something like this.”
The move came as North Wales Police continued to enforce Operation Focus and their Bikesafe initiative – both aimed at educating riders and reducing the number of road casualties.
The bikers claim 400 bikes are being stopped every weekend over the summer, with 350 of these riders not having committed any offence.
So far this year, two motorcyclists have been killed and 41 seriously injured, compared to eight deaths and 88 serious injuries in 2008, and 12 deaths and 80 bikers seriously injured in 2007.
 
Top