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PLAYING “CHICKEN”
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to your brief news item in the Dec 29th edition of the York Press which related to a claim made to the criminal injuries compensation authority by a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist was seriously injured in a road incident in Bristol in which a teenager was killed.
The facts are that the rider was a victim of a stupid craze which has developed amongst teenagers along the same lines as the distasteful 'happy slapping' phenomena.
It now seems 'cool' to run out in front of vehicles including motorbikes, playing ‘chicken’, as to who can cheat death which is filmed by mates on their mobile phones.
In this incident the rider was riding perfectly safely well within the speed limit when the youth, who was killed, ran out in front of the motorcyclist in such a way that a collision was unavoidable.
The coroner stated at the inquest that he was 'completely satisfied that no blame whatsoever can be attributed to the motorcyclist'.
The solicitor acting for the injured party believes that there is a strong case based on a reckless and highly dangerous criminal act which resulted in an innocent individual receiving serious injuries.
I do hope you can publish this letter which I hope balances the initial reporting of the incident and also acts as a warning to youngsters who might be considering this totally reckless activity which can not only result in their own death but also that of innocent road users.
Yours sincerely
David Short
Campaigns Manager
Motorcycle Action Group
(Formerly Chief Superintendent North Yorkshire Police)
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