Larry drums up support for bike safety

SEVEN out of ten motorcyclists have never received basic lessons, relying instead on trial and error and advice from biking friends.

The danger emerged yesterday when U2's Larry Mullen launched a motorcycle safety booklet compiled by the National Safety Council and the Irish Motorcyclists Action Group (MAG).

Larry arrived at the launch in the Nation Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire on his beloved Harley Davidson.

The drummer has been motorcycling since he was 16 years and, like the vast majority of bikers, has never received a basic lesson. Now Larry has agreed to go on a Star Rider Course developed by Fingal County Council.

Motorcycles represent less than 2% of the total vehicle fleet, yet motorcyclists account for 12% of road fatalities and 10% of road injuries each year.

"Almost one motorcyclist dies and 20 are injured on Irish roads each week. This is a cause for concern," said National Safety Council chief executive Pat Costello.

Road safety officer with MAG Ireland, Linda O Loideoin, said many novice bikers were shown the ropes by friends who have some experience but probably never received any training themselves. "The information they provide may be fatally wrong," she said.

"I would strongly advise all motorcyclists to pick up a free copy of the new motorcycle safety guide 'This is Your Bike' and, no matter what your age, or level of experience, if you haven't already done so, complete an approved motorcycle rider training course."

Statistics show that the number of registered motorcycles increased from 23,921 in 1998 to 33,147 in 2002. They also show that a motorcyclist is likely to be involved in an injury crash in built up area but more likely to be involved in a fatal crash in rural areas.

The National Safety Council wants the booklet, sponsored by Hibernian, to be thought provoking so that motorcyclists will think twice before going out on the road. It was written by Ray Murray, a professional motorcyclist trainer with Fingal County Council's Star Rider programme.

Free copies of the booklet can be obtained by phoning the National Safety Council at Lo-call 1890 200 844, by emaling [e-mail] or downloading from www.nsc.ie.

Colm Cullen's story - 'There wasn't a mark on me'

THERE wasn't a mark on Garda Colm Cullen after his motorbike collided with a car doing a sudden U-turn on a country road 12 years ago.

Unfortunately, Garda Cullen, who was thrown into a ditch four miles from Roscrea, County Tipperary, severed his spinal chord, an injury that has left him paralysed from the chest down.

"If you saw me sitting up in the hospital bed afterwards, you would never suspect that I was injured at all. There wasn't a mark on me. Unfortunately, I just landed in the ditch and that was that."

Garda Cullen, who now works in the Garda Traffic Division in Dublin Castle, had been a garda motorcyclist for about 14 years.

"If I could, I would get up on a motorcyclist again and drive away," he said.

Garda Cullen wanted to publicly support the launch of the new Motorcycle Safety Guide by the National Safety Council and MAG Ireland. "Everybody is familiar with motorbike fatalities but they don't think about people like me left with serious injuries."