THE Government has launched a hard-hitting campaign to make company car drivers more aware of bikers in urban situations.

It will launch TV, radio and poster ads urging drivers to ‘THINK! Take longer to look for bikes’ following statistics which revealed that 1,500 riders are killed or seriously injured every year by drivers who have not seen them.

A THINK! spokesman said: ‘The powerful images in our advertising should make drivers think twice before pulling out without a proper look at the oncoming traffic.

‘All drivers need to remember that bikes can be missed with a quick glance.’

A DfT report in 2004 concluded that the most common cause of motorbike crashes occur at T-junctions when drivers pull out having not seen the oncoming bike, while in 65% of these incidents, accident investigations concluded drivers had a clear view of the road.

The number of bikers involved in accidents is disproportionately high: in 2004, 585 bikers were killed and 6,063 seriously injured, which accounts for 17% of fatalities despite bikers making up only 1% of road users.

Promotional posters for the campaign can be ordered from the RSO section of www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk.