First aid sessions aiming to reduce the number of people on scooters or motorbikes killed or seriously injured are back for the start of the new riding season.
BikerDown! is an interactive workshop offering riders and pillions the chance to learn basic first aid as well as gain an awareness of road traffic collision management. Delivered by South Yorkshire Police’s Community Safety Team, the session provides the knowledge to safely help at the scene of a collision, as well as administering potentially lifesaving first aid.
Margaret Lawson, Community Safety Manager, said: “As a rider you are more likely to filter through stationary traffic and be confronted with a collision, or come across an incident on remote country roads.
“By responding quickly, and with basic first aid, you can make a tremendous difference to a person’s chances of surviving.”
In South Yorkshire in 2021, 92 powered-two-wheeler riders were seriously injured in a road traffic collision and sadly eight of those riders lost their lives.
And despite only making up around 1% of vehicle traffic, statistics show that riders account for around 20% of road fatalities across Great Britain.
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) said: “The BikerDown! training is a valuable part of our toolkit as we work together to try and prevent unnecessary loss of life on our roads.”
SYSRP recently launched a new casualty reduction strategy with a target of halving the number of people killed or seriously injured on local roads by the year 2030.
Dates of upcoming BikerDown! courses can be found at www.sysrp.co.uk/bikerdown. Available dates include Wednesdays 28th June, 26th July, 23rd August and 27th September.
Sessions will take place at the Lifewise Centre, Hellaby, Rotherham, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. To book or for any enquiries email lifewise.booking@southyorks.pnn.police.uk. Please leave your name, postcode, preferred session and contact telephone number.