1941-2025
Graeme Chatham, the Edinburgh dealer who fought for and eventually got the government to introduce compulsory rider training, died on 21 April. He was 84.
Chatham’s twelve-year campaign to make training mandatory commenced in 1978 following the death in road accidents of six of his customers in one week. From then on, he would only sell a bike to a first-time rider after they took training.
In the early days of the campaign he ran into bitter opposition from all sides – manufacturers, importers, dealers, and, amazingly, road safety organisations. Notable supporters included many Scottish dealers and, south of the border, dealers Colin Appleyard, of Keighley, Yorkshire, and Alan Damerall in Cornwall also backed Chatham’s efforts.
Rider training was finally made compulsory by transport minister Peter Bottomley in 1990. Since then, it has saved many bikers from death or serious injury, but Chatham’s achievement has never been recognised, either by the government or the motorcycle industry. His only recognition was a Services to Rider Safety Award presented to him by BDN in 2014.
A full appreciation will be published in the June issue of BDN.