Can you see the former police officer?

Sussex drivers are being asked to stay vigilant ahead of the summer motorbike season.

This image of retired police officer Graham Butcher has been released to remind motorists to look out for bikers as part of a campaign by Minster Law.

A spokesman said: “The man depicted in the image, Graham Butcher, was himself affected by a driver failing to see him. The resulting accident, in which a large agricultural machine turned into the path of his motorcycle, impacted his life significantly and led to his retirement as a police officer,

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“Graham has since retrained in a new profession and has refused to let the accident dampen his passion and enthusiasm for riding. He’s spearheading the awareness campaign on behalf of personal injury solicitors, Minster Law, who supported him after his accident.”

Bikers account for 19 per cent of all road user deaths despite only making up one per cent of total road traffic, according to the Department of Transport.

The law firm recreated the image of an everyday traffic scene using a specifically shot picture of a road in Lincolnshire.

Graham underwent six hours of studio-based painting by artist and motocross Mum, Melanie Hancock, at ViZard to create the illusion of invisibility.

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Artist Melanie said: “As a mum to two boys who ride motocross, I’m conscious that my kids may want to ride motorcycles on the road when they’re older, that’s why I was passionate about supporting this important campaign. I hope it helps to have an impact on driver behaviour and bikers’ visibility.”

Biker and Minster Law Managing Director, Michael Warren, said: “Over the past ten years, we have supported more than 23,000 bikers who have been injured in road traffic incidents.

“Many of those cases appear to have taken place at junctions or in another situation where a motorist failed to see the biker. We understand it’s not always because the driver didn’t look; sometimes the narrower profile of the vehicle or one headlight instead of two can unwittingly fool drivers.”

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