Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) are proud to reinstate their Bike Safe and Biker Down workshops. The workshops have been on hold due to Covid-19 but since Septem...
Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) are proud to reinstate their Bike Safe and Biker Down workshops. The workshops have been on hold due to Covid-19 but since September 2020 the police and fire service continued with the courses with restricted numbers to allow social distancing.
Road safety is extremely important, especially for motorcyclists and Bike Safe workshops, run by Warwickshire Police, are an opportunity for riders to experience a professional police observed ride with police graded riders.
With Warwickshire Bike Safe, participants will learn about the significant benefits of investing further time in post-test motorcycle training (IAM, RoSPA and the DVSA Enhanced Rider Scheme). On-going training is the key to becoming a safer, more skilled rider and with this is the added benefit that riding a motorcycle becomes more enjoyable. Warwickshire Police also fully understand that with time invested in quality post-test training, comes less rider risk and reductions in motorcycle casualty statistics.
Actions taken in the first few moments after an incident can make a real difference to the lives of those involved however many don’t feel confident enough to know what to do. Biker Down, run by WFRS, is a free training course designed to answer these uncertainties.
The course is three hours long and uses the expertise and advice from the Emergency Services and Road Safety Officers. It’s aimed at all ages and levels of experience.
It includes:
- Advice on what to do if you are first on the scene (collision scene management)
- Essential first-aid training. (CPR and helmet removal)
- Skills to help riders to been seen on the road (the science of being seen)
One customer, Neil, who attended a Warwickshire Police Bike Safe workshop last year said:
“I have been riding on the roads for 40 years now and never had any formal training other than that necessary to pass my test at 17 and consider myself lucky to have avoided any major accidents in all that time.
“In one day, this course has changed the way I ride – different lines, greater visibility, more time to think and a more relaxed and enjoyable ride as a result.”
Another customer, Jack, said:
“The day was fantastic, really well put together and incredibly good value for money. I learnt more in that one day than I have in eleven years of riding. It’s given me so much more confidence on the road and has definitely made me a safer rider.”
Sgt 1960 Shaun Bridle from Warwickshire Police Roads Policing unit said:
“Motorcyclists are at a higher risk of being seriously injured in any collision. Unfortunately, over recent years we have had a number of serious and fatal collisions involving motorcyclists on our roads and on several of these collisions it has been established that rider error was a significant contributing factor.
“I am confident that additional rider training, such as that offered on Bike Safe, equips riders to gain the skills and knowledge to be safer riders and shows the advantages of further training.”
Cllr Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety added:
“Having an awareness of road safety is crucial to keeping residents in Warwickshire safer. The WFRS bike safety course, Biker Down, aims to give people to confidence to know what to do if they are first on the scene of an accident by giving them essential first-aid training. We also equip people with skills to reduce their risk of being involved in a crash in the first place.
“By working in partnership with Warwickshire Police on these safety courses, we aim to reduce the number of road traffic collisions involving motorcycles so that our residents are safer on the roads.”
Join Warwickshire Police by booking a place on one of the Warwickshire Bike Safe workshops. New course dates will be available at the beginning of 2021 to book for courses running April-October 2021. For more information on Bike Safe, visit https://bikesafe.co.uk/warwickshire
Biker Down courses are run once a month with courses available to book through Eventbrite under Warwickshire Biker Down. For more information, visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/bikerdown