THE daughter of an experienced biker killed in an accident with a car is urging drivers to show consideration and improve their road awareness for cyclists.

Jennifer Liggat, of Limefield Street, Accrington, claims motorcyclists are always singled out for driving powerful bikes following accidents, but she believes that in a lot of cases inconsiderate car drivers were to blame.

Her comments came days after Pennine Police launched a road safety initiative aimed at improving the riding skills of young scooterists and older bikers who ride high powered machines.

Father of five Peter Liggat, 47, of Granville Road, Blackburn, had ridden motorbikes for 30 years without an accident -- before he tragically died last January.

A car pulling out from a junction knocked him off his powerful 750cc Triumph on Preston New Road, as he travelled towards Blackburn, an inquest had been told.

Miss Liggat said she was angered by the attitude where accidents are blamed on motorcyclists accused of riding bikes too powerful for them, but she said there was nothing to stop a newly-passed driver buying a powerful car like a BMW, and potentially putting others at risk.

Jennifer, 27, said: "My father had been riding motorbikes since he was 17 and he was a very experienced rider. Until the crash that killed him he had never had an accident and he used his bike all the time, travelling to and from work and at weekends." Miss Liggat said the bike was his pride and joy, and he and his wife, Carol, spent a lot of their leisure time travelling all over on it.

She said: "He was always polishing it up, and if the weather was nice at weekends they used to go out into the countryside, and would visit friends and family on it."

But Miss Liggat said that despite her father's sensible and mature attitude to riding he still died on the road.

She said: "Car drivers need to be made aware and become more sensitive to cyclists on the road, whether it's a powerful bike like my Dad's, a scooter or a push bike. Cyclists have just as much right to be on the roads as car drivers, but a lot of the time they're just not aware of them and lots of drivers just don't even see them.

"They should always give bikes a wide berth and make space for them, especially when overtaking."

At an inquest in April last year Blackburn coroner Michael Singleton returned a verdict of accidental death, but blamed the accident on an error of judgement on the driver's part when she failed to look properly as she pulled out.