THE new breed of motorbikers that is to be encountered on the region's prettiest roads every weekend is the most selfish bunch of people imaginable.

They care not for themselves or their families, and they certainly do not give a fig for other road users, be they other people out enjoying the glories of the Yorkshire Dales or local people who live and work there.

Anyone who has been in the Dales recently will have been frightened by these bikers. A flash and a blur in a rear view mirror and they are there behind you and then away in front, usually in the most unsuitable places.

Or they come flying towards you low around a bend. You know they are barely in control; they know they are at the very edge of their abilities. You're terrified for your own life - and the life of your family in the backseat; they are selfishly seeking their thrills without a care for anything other than their own gratification.

Twenty people have so far been killed in North Yorkshire this year. Not all will have been 'born again bikers', but such is the ubiquity of the selfish ones that all bikers - even those who are thoughtful and considerate - are now tarred with the same brush. Other people in the Dales or on the Moors flinch whenever they see any of them coming because it is only a matter of time before a speeding biker wipes out an innocent group of people who have the misfortune to be coming in the opposite direction at the wrong moment.

There are three ways pressure can be brought to bear on these idiots.

Firstly, their own families. These are usually middle-aged men who've found money but lost their brains in their bid to recapture their youth. Their bald spots are growing as quickly as their blind spots - they can't see what fools they are turning into. Their families - usually their wives - have to point out the error of their ways and demand that they downsize their ridiculous bikes - a 180mph bike can never be bought by someone merely wanting to tootle around the Dales.

Secondly, the Dalespeople have to make a stand. Because of the danger of the madmen on bikes, it is now more pleasant to visit the coast for a day out than it is to take the risk in the Dales. Businesses will soon begin to lose money - do Yorkshire councils see a future for the county as one big racetrack, or are they going to invest in bike-calming measures so all visitors can come to spend their money?

Thirdly, the police. If car drivers transgress in Cleveland or Northumbria, hidden cameras bring them to book immediately, even if the roads are straight and clear.

Yet in North Yorkshire, bikers speed with impunity around the most dangerous, twisty, crowded roads in the country.

You do not see mobile police patrols pointing a 'hairdryer' at every biker every Saturday or Sunday; you do not see speed cameras on every straight stretch of road.

Speed cameras might be a yellow blot on the landscape but they are better than the bright red blood of innocent day-trippers on the roadside.