Festival of Motorcycling road safety campaign

The Department of Infrastructure is launching a hard-hitting road safety campaign as of Tuesday 12 August, as the Isle of Man gears up to host the 2014 Festival of Motorcycling.


The campaign encourages visiting and local bikers to respect the Manx roads, keep their speeds down and ride within their capabilities.

The message ‘Don’t bin it’ is a play on the phrase used by bikers to refer to crashing and the campaign posters feature a striking image of a motorcycle in a wheelie bin.

Posters will be displayed at key locations and venues ahead of the Festival of Motorcycling, which gets under way with the first practice session on Saturday 16 August.

Several thousand visitors are expected to travel to the Island for the event, resulting in a big increase in the volume of traffic on local roads.

John Houghton MHK, Member of the Department of Infrastructure with responsibility for Highway Services, said:

‘We want locals and visitors alike to enjoy everything the Isle of Man and the Festival of Motorsport has to offer. The safety campaign encourages people to behave responsibly, ride to the conditions and show respect for other road users.’

He added:

‘We are committed to making the Island’s roads as safe as possible all year round and keeping the number of collisions to an absolute minimum. The race fortnight is a busy period and we hope everyone will heed the campaign message and go home with fond memories of their time in the Isle of Man.’


The campaign will be supported by further use of the road safety imagery used during the TT Festival showing a visitor arriving in the Isle of Man on his bike but heading home of crutches, with the strapline ‘Biker to foot passenger’.

Members of the Isle of Man Constabulary will once again have a strong presence during the Festival of Motorcycling to enforce the rules of the road.

Unmarked police cars and motorcycles will be on patrol and anyone caught breaking the law will be dealt with appropriately.

Sergeant Allan Thompson, Head of the Roads Policing Unit, said:

‘Unlike the TT period, the Mountain Road will remain open to two-way traffic during the Festival of Motorcycling. We would encourage people to get to their spectator points in good time and avoid any last-minute rush before roads close.’

He added:

‘It is important to respect the roads at all times and pay attention to speed limits, road conditions and other road users. We want people to have fun, but also to stay safe.’

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