• The Essex Casualty Reduction Board
• > News
• > Rider Section

THINK! launches 'Named Riders' campaign

Motorcyclists will see their names up in lights as part of a new £3.5m THINK! campaign which launches on 1 March.

The new TV adverts will show bikers with flashing neon signs attached to their bikes.  The signs show the rider's name and describe personality traits such as 'shy retiring type' or 'new dad'.  The voiceover asks drivers to look out for motorcyclists next time they're out driving

The ‘Named Riders’ campaign marks a radical departure for THINK! after research showed drivers are more likely to notice motorcyclists on the roads if they personally know a biker.

The adverts put motorcyclists at the centre of the new campaign to encourage all drivers to see the person behind the helmet, and so tackle the over-representation of motorcyclists in road casualty figures – bikers account for 1% of traffic but 19% of deaths on Britain’s roads (source: Road Casualties Great Britain).

Paul Clark, road safety minister, said: "Previous adverts have warned drivers to look out for bikes in specific situations such as at T-junctions or in their blind spots, and showed the deadly consequences of failing to do so.  This new campaign goes a step further by asking drivers to reconsider the way they look at bikers." 

The new campaign includes TV, radio, cinema and online advertising.  The first TV advert will air on 1 March during Coronation Street in London and during Emmerdale across the rest of Great Britain.

Another campaign, ‘Be Alive to the Road’, encourages new motorcyclists to wear protective clothing and take up further training. 

Click here to view the TV advert.