'You have to ride as if everyone is out to get you'

Figures show 34 motorcyclists have been killed on Norfolk's roads in the last five years. As a new road safety campaign is launched, what do bikers say – and what might help cut casualties?

Chrissie Alexander has been a motorcyclist for seven years but has yet to ride her bike so far this year.

She says she has "lost a lot of confidence" after being knocked off by a van while waiting to turn right at a junction at Acle, Norfolk.

The van, she says, came from behind and hit the front wheel of her bike, leaving her lying on the road.

Now on her bike she feels "very vulnerable".

"I realise as a biker you've just got to ride as if everyone is out to get you and be on your toes constantly," she says.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the BBC to Norfolk Police revealed 34 motorcyclists were killed on the county's roads between the start of January 2021 and the end of last October.

Over that period, the highest number was in 2022 when 10 were killed, but so far in 2026, the death toll is at nine and there have been a number of other serious collisions.

Earlier this year, Norfolk Police urged road users to be more aware of motorcyclists, saying about 69% of motorcycle fatalities occurred on rural roads, with high speeds, bends and poor surfaces increasing the risk.

On Saturday a motorcyclist in his 20s was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge in a serious condition following a collision with a grey Volvo EX30 on New Road in Belton, near Great Yarmouth.

Trevor Latter, 63, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, has been riding a motorbike since he was 16 and started touring Europe aged 18 with a friend he had known since primary school.

That friend, John, was killed after trying to overtake a car near his home in Kent.

"We had just done a tour of Germany, been home a couple of weeks and I suddenly got a call from his wife to say he had been involved in an accident," recalls Latter.

"I hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks. He was staying over in Germany on our tour so we said goodbye as I was coming home.

"I went left and he went right and that was the last time I saw him."

Latter, a member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), says for as long as he can remember, motorcycle accidents have "been a thing".

On riding more safely, he says: "'Keep your eyes open' is the obvious thing, but there are many reasons people can't be seen when riding a motorcycle.

"Pay more attention is the long and short of it – and that applies to motorcyclists as well."

One thing that surprises Steve Kimber is the number of experienced bikers over the age of 50 who have been involved in collisions.

The 68-year-old from Docking, Norfolk, says there can be a lack of concentration from other road users on roundabouts or junctions, especially on roads people are familiar with driving on.

"The way I look at it when I'm out on the trike – and I've got five pretty big headlights across the front of this and people still don't see you – I just treat it as everyone is out there to kill you."

His biggest complaint is the state of Norfolk's roads, however.

"The roads are absolutely appalling," he says.

"They are bad for a three-wheeler, let alone for a two-wheeler and that's why you see bikes swerving around on the roads.

"They are trying to miss all the manhole covers on roads that have been tarmacked two or three times."

Norfolk Road Safety Partnership has launched a campaign aimed at all motorists to highlight small changes everyone can make to ensure roads are safer.

Speaking at its launch, Scott Hussey, Reform UK cabinet member for public health on Norfolk County Council, says the number of motorcyclist fatalities is going up nationally.

"Motorcyclists are the most vulnerable people on the roads... the key message here is: 'Look twice to save a life.'"

On the state of the county's roads, he says the authority is doing "everything we can" to improve them.

"They do contribute to accidents so it's an absolute priority that we fix our roads as quickly as possible," he says.

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.