A MOTORCYCLIST was killed in an accident on Skye yesterday – three days after police launched a campaign aimed at cutting the biker death toll on north roads.
The 33-year-old was heading south on the A87 between Invermoriston and Uig when he lost control of his machine.
His badly damaged motorbike ended up in a burn down a slope on the opposite side of the road.
The rider died at the scene of the crash near Loch Ainort, north of Broadford.
The death was the 13th motorcycle fatality on roads in the Highlands and islands in the past two years.
A police spokesman said yesterday: “Despite efforts at the scene to administer medical treatment, the 33-year-old male rider died.
“Police investigators are currently in attendance and the road will be closed for examinations to take place and a diversion is in place for cars only.
“There are no further details available until next of kin have been traced and informed.”
Three days ago, police launched a new campaign – Operation Zenith – to tackle the number of bikers killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads. Inspector Neil Lumsden, of the divisional road policing unit, said the Highlands and islands division dealt with more crashes in which bikers were killed or seriously injured than any other division in Scotland.
He said the campaign aimed to raise awareness of the vulnerability of bikers and improve safety for all road-users.
The operation involves officers, including police motorcyclists, carrying out high-visibility patrols on the most popular motorcycle routes. They will also speak to bikers.
Local councillors said their thoughts were with the family of the latest victim.
Drew Millar, who represents Skye, said: “My condolences go out to the family of this poor soul.
“This highlights the problem that we have with the traffic on the roads.
“It’s a tragic thing to happen on Easter Sunday, one of the busiest weekends of our tourist season, especially with the police giving advice so recently about motorcyclists.”
Fellow ward member Ian Renwick said: “My sympathy goes out to the family of the man.
“It’s a tragic accident. The police are doing the best they can to give advice to motorcyclists and, at this time of year, the number of motorcyclists does increase.”
The road closure created long tailbacks on one of the busiest weekends for tourism.
The accident happened about 9.40am.
Larger vehicles, including buses, caravans and an oil tanker, faced a lengthy wait until police began to let traffic through in stages.