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Printable versionPaul Airton
Representing
East Anglian Air Ambulance - Area Fundraising Manager Bedfordshire
Website
Contact Details
East Anglian Air Ambulance
Room 12
THe Rufus Centre
Steppingley Road
Flitwick
Bedfordshire
MK45 1AH
Tel: 01525 718517
Email: paul.airton@eaaa.org.uk
I’ve held a full motorcycle licence since 1979, previous motorcycles owned include Yamaha RD400E & TZR125; Suzuki A100M, GS1000S, GS1000E, GS550E, GT250X7; Kawasaki GPZ1100A2; and a rather peculiar BSA 350 B40 ex-MOD dispatch bike fully equipped with sand filter! I traded my last bike in for a pram some 18 years ago – and yet my current licence allows me to go into my nearest dealership and buy a hypersports bike, taking it on the road without having ridden a bike for so long. It’s a bit worrying really isn’t it? Its not suprising that my age group is the one the road safety partnerships are particularly worried about. It’s the old adage, ‘the older I get, the faster I was’.
Working with the air ambulance, I receive terrific support from motorcyclists, but I do cringe when bikers who spend so much on their own safety equipment, pass on their spare helmet to their latest partner on the assumption that it fits fine. 85% of women are wearing the wrong size bra according to the latest statistics, I wonder how that figure compares with the correct helmet size of casual pillion riders?
I have a 17 year old son who is having driving lessons, but itching for a bike. I would insist he gets the correct training not only to pass the various compulsory tests, but also to gain the necessary skills to acquire a chance of surviving on the busy road networks in our area.
Of course, you can argue that a car driver can pass a test, then go out any buy a top Italian sports car with no further training. That’s true. The point is that you have far more protection when you crash a car through inexperience, than you have on a bike.
Travelling around the county also allows me to restock the dealerships and clubs on their various bits and pieces from the Motorcycling Training Matters partnerships such as the terrific Bedfordshire Biker magazine, as well as providing the partnership with a presence on our information points at events. I am delighted that the Casualty Reduction partnership feels the same by carrying our information when they are on the road too.
I am delighted to be on the Forum, and help the partnership in any way I can.
Working with the air ambulance, I receive terrific support from motorcyclists, but I do cringe when bikers who spend so much on their own safety equipment, pass on their spare helmet to their latest partner on the assumption that it fits fine. 85% of women are wearing the wrong size bra according to the latest statistics, I wonder how that figure compares with the correct helmet size of casual pillion riders?
I have a 17 year old son who is having driving lessons, but itching for a bike. I would insist he gets the correct training not only to pass the various compulsory tests, but also to gain the necessary skills to acquire a chance of surviving on the busy road networks in our area.
Of course, you can argue that a car driver can pass a test, then go out any buy a top Italian sports car with no further training. That’s true. The point is that you have far more protection when you crash a car through inexperience, than you have on a bike.
Travelling around the county also allows me to restock the dealerships and clubs on their various bits and pieces from the Motorcycling Training Matters partnerships such as the terrific Bedfordshire Biker magazine, as well as providing the partnership with a presence on our information points at events. I am delighted that the Casualty Reduction partnership feels the same by carrying our information when they are on the road too.
I am delighted to be on the Forum, and help the partnership in any way I can.