Bikers ride to highlight safety

Twelve bikers have died in the Plymouth area this year

More than 100 motorcyclists have been out in Devon and Cornwall to highlight the importance of safety awareness.

The Reflective Riding initiative is aimed at promoting safe motoring.

And the ride-out marked the end of the week-long road safety campaign run jointly by Devon and Cornwall Police and the Plymouth Evening Herald.

Twelve bikers have died in the Plymouth area alone since the start of 2007, with the latest two fatalities on Saturday evening.

This is about highlighting the hideous number of casualties on the roads Insp Robin Derges Two dead in motorcycle collision

The ride-out started at the Devonport side of the Torpoint ferry crossing before travelling to the Windy Ridge Cafe on the A374, followed by the A38 through Plymouth, then north on the A386 through Tavistock and finishing at Sourton Cross near Okehampton.

Insp Robin Derges, head of the police's Devon and Cornwall Motorcycle Wing, said the initiative was about getting people to think.

"This is about highlighting the hideous number of casualties on the roads among the motorcycle community," he said.

"What Reflective Riding is all about is getting all sections of the road-going population to think and reflect on what they're doing."

There was also a minute's silence at the event to remember those who have died while riding motorbikes.