More motorbike accidents predicted as roads get busier

• Report by Matthew Taylor

Police are predicting that there could be more motorbike accidents this summer on our region's roads.

Cumbria Police say more people have been taking up biking during lockdown.

There is also likely to be extra traffic on on routes as people stay in the UK rather than go abroad for their holiday due to chaos at airports and more cancelled flights.

Hartside between Penrith and Alston has been identified a particularly dangerous stretch for bikers. Andy Clark is one motorcyclist who has been coming to the area regularly for two decades, but despite his experience has been injured in a crash. He said, " I was within the speed limits, but it was quite a tight corner and it was gravel on the road to the front end just hit the gravel in the front, just went out.".

He broke his arm, but didn't suffer any lasting damage. Others have not been so fortunate.

There was a collision on Hartside Pass on Saturday 9 September, which left a motorcyclist in hospital with serious injuries. Over the Border, a 58-year-old biker was pronounced dead in the Scottish Borders the next day.

One in five of all road deaths were bikers in 2020, despite only 1 percent of vehicles being motorcycles.

A spokesperson from Cumbria Police said, "It is busy. There's a lot more people out here. There's a lot more people wanting to use the road. For me personally, I always think I consider all the people to be a family member of mine. You know, people will make mistakes. But if we could just look after each other out there, be a little bit more forgiving to people when they do make an error, then perhaps we'll have an impact on reducing collisions."