Softer, more flexible road signs to help lessen the impact of motorbike crashes are being rolled out at motorbike hotspots in the far north.

The cost of the project is set to reach $20 million over five years.

"The Captain Cook Highway here in the far north is one of the first hotspots to benefit from the new safety initiatives. I'm hoping they will be a real triumph in road safety for motorbike riders," Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace said.

Minister Wallace said as a result of a worldwide search, safety experts in Main Roads decided to adopt safety measures that have been used successfully in the UK.

"The facts speak volumes. While motorcyclists account for only 5% of road users, they are 30 times more likely to be killed in a crash. We simply must turn these statistics around," he said.

Apart from the flexible signs, extra rails will be installed on guardrails to stop motorbike riders from sliding under the guardrail and hitting the post. Steel reflector mounts will be replaced with flexible plastic ones and plastic caps will be placed on top of guardrail posts.

"It's about making the road and the roadside more forgiving for motorbike riders," he said.

Minister Wallace said in a first for the far north, 76 sign posts between Buchan Point and Yule Point now sport impact cushions to soften the force of a collision, as well as plastic faces that flex if struck.

"Bendy guide posts have been used to replace guardrails about 1.5 km north of Ellis Beach and impact cushions have been attached to wire rope barriers on a sharp curve at Yule Point and just north of Ellis Beach.

"Guardrails at ten key locations between Rex Lookout and Yule Point have been fitted with rub rail, which protects motorcyclists from the impact of guardrail posts," he said.

Late last year, a team of road safety auditors and motorcycle experts audited a 32km section of the Captain Cook Highway from Buchan Point to Mowbray River Bridge to investigate roadside factors that might contribute to motorbike crashes.