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Keep roads safe for bikers, says BMF
The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) is calling for the safety of bike and scooter riders to be taken into consideration by authorities maintaining their roads this summer.
With temperatures frequently reaching the 30°C mark over recent weeks there is a threat of tar on the roads melting, a problem that has already led to road closures in Cornwall and that has forced many authorities to grit or sand their roads to even them out.
However, the BMF is concerned that this practice actually endangers bikers through build up of sand and grit dressings at kerbside, road centres and around traffic islands and roundabouts.
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It has therefore written to the Highways Agency and other authorities asking that a proper audit be carried out before any such maintenance is carried out on roads and so far, feedback has been highly encouraging.
BMF government relations executive Richard Olliffe commented: "This hot spell has been exceptional and while melting tar is a hazard to all road users, short-term measures can bring an extra danger to motorcyclists and it's this that we wanted to highlight.
"I'm very pleased with the positive responses we have had so far."
The BMF is concerned by the general threat poor-quality roads pose to motorbike and scooter riders, considering them to be more at risk from this than other vehicle users and calling on them to report any damaged roads to the relevant authority.
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