Dr Stephen Ladyman, Minister for Transport opened the International
Motorcycle Show at the NEC with praise for the safety initiatives of the
Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) and joined a host of other
motorcycling guests at the opening ceremony.
Charley Boorman and Suzi Perry officially opened the show introducing
the Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman, who acknowledged
the importance of motorcycling as a key mode of transport in the future
as well as presenting the MCIA with the Prince Michael Safety Award.
The Minister spoke about motorcycle safety and the partnership work of
the industry and Government which aims to reduce motorcycle casualties
and make the roads safer for all users. He presented Geoff Sherley CEO
and Karen Cooke, Head of Motorcycle Safety for the MCI with the
prestigious Prince Michael Road Safety, which it has achieved in
recognition of its ongoing commitment to reducing motorcycle casualties.
Partnership working with a range of associations, media relations, youth
education and the production of two safety DVDs including A Street, A
Track, An Open Road are just some of the activities and projects that
have contributed to this award.
Craig Carey- Clinch, MCI's Director of Public Affairs said, " The
attendance of the Minister at the show opening is an incredible
acknowledgement of the industry's work in the field of road safety.
The MCI stepped up its commitment to reducing motorcycle casualties in
2003 when it produced the first of its safety strategies in response to
government pressure. In that time, many positive steps have been taken
to help make roads safer for all road users and the Government's
National Motorcycle Strategy, launched in 2005, has firmly placed
motorcycling at heart of mainstream transport policy.
We can see that certain initiatives, such as motorcycle exemption form
the congestion charge has reduce the amount of traffic volume, increased
the number of bikes on the roads and at the same time motorcycle
casualties have reduced. We expect to continue to expand on this and
many other initiatives to ensure less lives are lost each year."
