As a regular road user in Portsmouth, I have witnessed a disheartening number of motorcycle-related accidents, most of which involve collisions with cars. This reality reveals the vulnerability of motorcyclists amid Portsmouth city traffic. This petition goes out to the Portsmouth City Council with a plea to desist from prosecuting motorcyclists and to initiate measures to protect these vulnerable road users from harm's way.

The plea arises from genuine concern for safety on our roads. According to a 2019 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are 27 times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents compared to those in cars. This statistic highlights an urgent need for policy changes.

Motorcyclists, often the party at risk, routinely find themselves unfairly targeted by council enforcement through fines. We urge the Portsmouth City Council to reevaluate their approach and revise related policies and regulations. Instead of prosecuting, our local government should pursue actions that increase the safety of motorcyclists. This could include promoting rider education, enhancing road safety design and monitoring, and enforcing strict penalties for drivers who put motorcyclists at risk.

The recent 'experiment' by PCC opened up bus lanes to private hire vehicles, hardly a vulnerable road user. The council later confirmed in November 2024 that these private hire vehicles would be allowed to continue to use the bus lanes on an ongoing basis. This obviously would have been a perfect opportunity for the council to reconsider access for motor cyclists but this was missed.  This illustrates the strange prioritisation happening within PCC, also being supported by the road safety officer employed there and also Cllr Peter Candlish.

For Portsmouth to remain a vibrant and safe city, we all need to work together to protect every road user, especially our motorcyclists. Join this plea to the Portsmouth City Council to stop the prosecution and start the protection of motorcyclists. Entreating your commitment to this cause, please sign this petition.