Bikes for Good

BIKER

DOWN

Biker Down is the UK Fire Service’s response to a safety concern we identified amongst motorcyclists. Namely that they often ride in groups and so the first person ‘on scene’ at a motorcycle incident is often another biker. But with little knowledge of accident scene management and basic first aid skills, they may find themselves struggling to cope until the emergency services arrive.

In 2010 I witnessed a motorcycle accident whilst off duty – I am a crew manager of the fire bike team at Kent Fire and Rescue Service – and used my own training as a firefighter to assist at the scene. On reflection, I realised the skills and knowledge I had could benefit fellow bikers. The Biker Down scheme was born and I delivered the first course in August 2011 at Ashford Fire Station in Kent.

The course is endorsed by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) as one of their recognised Road Safety Strategies and is the main initiative for their prevention work targeting bikers. Since 2011, the course has also been a focus for fire and rescue services across the UK and is delivered free to the public.

One of the challenging issues trainers and safety advisors face is changing people’s behaviour – experience shows that motorcyclists and drivers are particularly difficult to influence in this area. Shock tactics may work for some, but with the high number of fatalities and casualties involving motorcyclists on our roads, NFCC recognises that an educational approach is needed.

Biker Down is designed to support other training available, something demonstrated in several of the Police Bike Safe courses around the UK where Biker Down is being incorporated in the syllabus. It has also been partnered with the DocBike Scheme, where staff and volunteers from DocBike are now also assisting in the delivery in conjunction with their own work towards motorcycle safety.

Consisting of three modules over a session lasting three to four hours, Biker Down offers people the ability to train in essential life skills and knowledge based on operational firefighter training. This helps them to cope should they encounter or be involved in a road traffic collision, rather than just give them information on the consequences of crashing.

Biker Down believes this will bring about a greater sense of responsibility when out on the road and hopefully a change in attitude that will keep bikers safer, both in their riding technique and how they react at the roadside.

The course is free to bikers of all ages and abilities so that there is no financial barrier to taking part. Specifically, the course includes the very latest advice surrounding the thorny issue of helmet removal.

JiM SandeRSOn, founder of biker down, explains how this free ‘scene of accident’ course works

Above: Liveried-up bikes match the fire engine to get the message across Below: L to R: Jim, Prince Michael of Kent and Lawrence Pater Below right: Have they seen you?

Module One – Incident Scene Management, is presented by a firefighter and explores how we ensure the safety of a fallen rider and anyone else involved in offering first aid, as well as advice on alerting the emergency services.

Module Two – Casualty Care, deals specifically with motorcycle-related first aid including typical trauma and mechanism of injury, dealing with major bleeds and basic life support, CPR, managing spinal injuries and crash helmet removal.

Module Three – The Thinking Biker, looks at the way the brain interprets data sent by the eye so that what’s visible isn’t always seen, examining phenomena such as motion camouflage, saccadic masking and looming, and offers some positive advice on how to make the most of our chances of being seen. It’s presented in the form of a film, ‘The Thinking Biker,’ and further illustrated by graphics used during subsequent group discussion. Biker Down puts the point over that hi-vis clothing, daytime riding lights and retro-reflective materials don’t guarantee we’ll be seen by other road users. It highlights that a biker’s best defence is assuming that he/she might not be seen and riding accordingly!

The course is highly interactive with plenty of lively discussion and questions, plus the hands-on experience of the first aid module. At the end of the day, participants receive a certificate of attendance as well as an ‘aide memoire’ to help remember the content of the course, and a Medical Data Carrier for medical and emergency contact details to be attached to the rider’s helmet.

Fire bike and Biker Down teams across the UK have been delivering this course for 11 years now. It’s been run for motorcycle clubs and groups of all backgrounds, from Harley owners to track day addicts, advanced motorcyclists to patch clubs and the general public.

For the year 2016/17, 6,109 bikers attended the course, the last official stats we have pre-Covid. Since Covid the demand has been just as high, if not higher! We’ve had feedback from several people who’ve attended not just bike accidents, but also car crashes and even non-road related incidents and put their skills to good use.

Although started in Kent at a single fire station back in 2011, there are now over 45 Biker Down teams around the UK, mainly from fire and rescue services, but in some instances other road safety practitioners – two police forces have also started delivery in their areas. It is the main product that fire bike teams in the UK promote.

Biker Down was recognised at the Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Awards in December 2012 and went on to win a National Alarm Award in August 2013. As founder of the course, I was delighted in 2019 to be awarded the Ministry of Defence Road Safety Award for my work in training military instructors from all three services, to deliver Biker Down to their own staff.

For further information or to sign up for the course (open to anyone in or outside Kent) contact me by email at james. sanderson@kent.fire-uk.org or you can make contact via Facebook by searching Kent Fire Bike. For national enquiries look for the ‘Biker Down UK’ page, or the website at

www.bikerdown.co.uk