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P.R.A BACKS MAG
The Petrol Retailers Association, the huge umbrella group representing Petrol Forecourts across the UK have come on board to back the Diesel Spills Kill Campaign.
For car drivers, a diesel spill on the road is at best a non-issue, at worst an inconvenience. For bike riders however we all know it can be disastrous and sadly in some cases fatal.
This is why the PRA is throwing its weight behind the Motorcycle Action Group campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of diesel spills.
Retail Motor Industry (RMI) spokesman Frank Finch and RMI director of the PRA Ray Holloway are both supporting the MAG Campaign aimed at making the nation’s roads safer for Britain’s cyclists, scooters and motorcyclists.
For car, van and truck drivers it is difficult to appreciate the heart-stopping hazard that diesel spills represent.
Forecourt magazine editor Vaughan Freeman, a keen biker himself, continues, “Bikers are far more likely to be involved in a serious or fatal accident involving diesel than they face with road debris, mud or ice. Some Department of Transport figures suggest that diesel spills present up to three times the hazard.”
The problems on forecourts are mostly caused by clumsy drivers who overfill tanks, and on the road by car, truck and van drivers who fail to replace or properly tighten the fuel cap after filling up.
MAG’s Director of Public Affairs, Trevor Baird says: “Despite extensive campaigning on the danger of diesel spills for motorcyclists, the situation doesn’t seem to have been resolved. How hard can it be for diesel tanks to be designed so that diesel cannot spill out?
MAG also points out that diesel spills are not being mopped up correctly, with road authorities continuing to use sand and stone chippings, which create a further hazard instead of the appropriate materials and tactics.
A key problem is that diesel can take weeks to break down so it can linger long after the day it was spilled, ready to reappear on the surface when it rains.
And the Police agree. Chief Superintendent Short of the North Yorkshire Police (and founder of Bikesafe UK) says: “It is most disappointing in this day and age of technical advances on motor vehicles, which include ABS and power steering, Traction control and a host of developments to improve safety on our roads that we still face the menace from vehicles spilling fuel from tanks which are not properly sealed.”
Fact – Diesel is becoming more and more popular and there is an increasing amount of commercial vehicles on our highways. The potential more lethal diesel spills is increasing without counter action from the authorities.
MAG knows it is not the oil companies who are spilling diesel and have focused our spills campaign on fore-courts and at the general public so that they can acknowledge the danger and use diesel in a safe manner.
It appears the weak link in the chain is the diesel user, some, who through either ignorance to the hazard or care less attitude does not think twice about filling a diesel tank to the neck.
MAG would also like to point out that forecourts can help by using carbon eating cleaners to deal with the immediate spill in and around their premises, rather than the messy yet traditional sand or grit.
For more information visit www.killspills.org.uk
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