Haven't you got anything better to do Officer?
Our aim is
to make the roads of Dorset safer. To achieve this we operate with
many partners and use both enforcement and education. Many riders
consider the enforcement of minor traffic legislation to be both a
waste of time and a necessary irritation of riding in the
UK. But few consider the
risks involved when they change their machines or the equipment on
them. Here we will try and enlighten you as to why traffic officers
have both a duty and a need to enforce some of the more minor
traffic laws.
Small number plates.
The modern trend is for riders to cut down their number plates.
Whilst trimming the edges might not seem to bad, reducing it to the
size of a postage stamp is both illegal and stupid. Firstly your
plate is a natural reflector. It is designed to reflect light and
so maybe one of the main safety features on your bike. In reduced
light or visibility it could save your life. Secondly if you have
your bike stolen you're doing the thief’s job by making our job
harder. Modern systems allow for number plates to be read. This has
resulted in many stolen vehicles being recovered. The main thing to
remember is that the smaller the plate the more we think you’ve got
to hide. This will increase your chances of being stopped and
possibly reported. If you're not sure what’s legal then follow the
link to the
DVLA for the all
the facts -
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/
Loud Cans.
If your cans are not marked "Road Legal" or "For Road Use" then
chances are that it's not legal in this country. If you know that
it will fail an
MOT,
then you know you shouldn’t have it on your bike when out on the
road. The main problem is the noise a group of riders can cause. To
the untrained it can often sound as if bikers are racing through a
quiet area. We often get complaints from residents about "gangs" of
bikers charging through their village. This means a bad press for
all bikers and more grief for riders with increased police
enforcement being put into place. Its also a misnomer that a loud
pipe could prevent an accident. More likely that the witnesses will
report that they heard a bike racing. What does yours sound like at
20mph?
Tinted Visors.
Whilst looking cool and maybe lulling you into a false sense that
you are a riding god, tinted visors can be a real danger. Sadly we
have documented cases where a rider has either lost their life or
being seriously injured due to wearing a tinted visor. In the
UK a road-legal visor
will carry either a CE mark or be stamped as road -legal. These
allow sufficient light through to ensure that you can see where
you're going, handy really. Some may be marked for daytime use
only. If you have one make sure that any trip you make is planned
so that you will be home before it's dark. Whilst you will probably
still see another vehicle with a tinted visor would it allow you to
see a patch of oil in a shaded area? Or a change in the road
conditions or direction? At 60mph you are travelling at 90 feet a
second. Having an illegal tinted visor could just cause you to miss
that one thing you didn’t plan for. It's too late once you’re on
the deck.
Coloured Headlight Covers.
The law is simple. It’s a white or amber light to the front and a
red light to the rear. Nothing complex about that. That’s until you
start changing this basic principle. To the average motorist a
white light is coming towards them, a red light is going away. If
you swap this round the average car driver won't realise what’s
happened until you're three feet into their compartment, having
just pulled out into your path. Again we have the proof that this
happens. It's not just the police being a pain, it’s the police
trying to prevent another death or serious injury. If you have a
coloured lens cover then don’t expect us to be too happy. Sadly
we’ve seen the results of confusion on the roads and will do
anything to prevent you becoming just another statistic.