Ride safe, urges speed queen Jo

Jo Stevenson clocked 243.5mph on a turbo-powered Suzuki GSX 1300 R to claim the title during a Top Speed event at Elvington airfield in York last November.

Now the 40-year-old biker from Bramley is encouraging fellow motorcycle fanatics to drive safely on the borough’s roads and is endorsing the National Bikesafe Motorcycle Show, at Doncaster Racecourse on June 8 and 9, as a great place to start.

Jo, who claims that she is “steady” and “plays it safe” on the roads, said: “It’s not necessarily what you do but what others do which is a problem.”

BikeSafe is a police-led motorcycle project which aims is to reduce the number of bikers being hurt on the roads.

The National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show brings together stands from the world’s leading motor-cycle manufacturers and stunt bike displays from the Dave Coates Stunt Show, Steve ‘Mr Showtime’ Colley and Moto Gymkhana with the opportunity to take an assessed test rides alongside an advanced police officer.

Every rider who brings with them a full motorcycle licence and current insurance and MOT certificates will get the chance to take one of the 45-minute rides.

Jo claims that the exercise is worthwhile due to the risks bikers face on the roads. She said: “Although you may be doing excessive speeds on the track, you know nothing is going to get in your way.

“No bus for example is going to come around the corner. On the roads, the chances are pretty high that something or someone will be there.”

The popularity of Yorkshire with motorcycle fanatics means that the region has seen a significant number of motorcyclists involved in collisions and falls year-after-year.

Provisional figures released by South Yorkshire Police show that 511 bikers suffered a serious injury or were killed in the Yorkshire and Humber region during 2012.

A further 39 received slight injuries in Rotherham.

For more information about Bikesafe visit facebook.com/BikesafeShow or www.bikesafeshow.co.uk.