Extra police patrols and round-the-clock speed checks will be operating over the weekend.

The initiative, in North Yorkshire, is part of Operation Halter - the hard-line policy launched in 2003 in the face of rising motorcycle casualties.

This year, there have been 410 death or serious injury accidents involving cars or motorcycles, a reduction of 7.6 per cent on the same period last year.

There have been 94 motorcycle crashes in which someone was killed or seriously injured, a reduction from last year's 105 on August 25, although the number of deaths is the same at 11.

Assistant Chief Constable David Collins said: "When you consider the tens of thousands of riders based here or who come to North Yorkshire to enjoy our 6,000 miles of roads, then 94 bad bike accidents is a very tiny total. But it is still 94 too many. Each represents suffering and pain or different types, and each represents a tragedy with ramifications well beyond the individual rider or pillion."

So far this year, officers have devoted 2,285 hours to Operation Halter, compared with 1,441 hours by this time last year.

Bike patrols will also take place in Weardale and Teesdale, in County Durham. Seven police motorbikes will survey the area and will pull over offending bikers, as well as invite riders to stop for a chat.

Sergeant Bob Brown, of Durham Constabulary, said: "We're educating rather than prosecuting - a problem shared between us is a problem halved."