"biker down" course

[red98]

anyone been on one of these courses ?......just spotted in local press and made an enquiry. .....iam a lofo so could come in handy 

[richfzs]

Yep, did one last year. Really enjoyed it, not masses of new stuff (for me, was new to some others who haven't been riding long), but a great consolidation of what you should know anyway, great to get instruction on how to remove a helmet (if its absolutely necessary). Interesting too to get their view (mine was run by the fire service, I think this is the case across the country?) on what they would like to happen at accident scenes, and we had a copper in as well, again very interesting to get his view on lots of things.

well worth doing

[Grahamm]

I've been on one at one of the Ready to Ride events at Haselmere Fire Station and I agree it's well worth doing.

They were also giving out little emergency kits of a Crash Card (advice on what to do at the scene) a pair of sterile gloves and a pressure dressing which stays in a pocket on my jacket now, just in case.

IMO every biker should go on one of these courses.

[red98]

Yeh ...thats right, run by bucks fire service.....I like to think I know what to do, but nice to hear it from the horses mouth... ;)u

[Punkstig]

Red- the ride skills day at Brands includes all the first aid training from Biker down, the only reason it's not free is because in essence you're paying for the track time!

[red98]

Yeh, been thinking about that one aswell.....dont own any leathers at moment.track day is on my list of things to do, spending lots on the house at the moment so will have to wait untill later in the year .

[Punkstig]

Fair enough, leathers are available to hire for £45 for the day!

[Arfa]

Heard loads of good stuff about them. Booked myself on one for 6th Mar at Marlow. Will see how it goes.

[red98]

Thats the one Iam trying to get on.....2mins from mums house 

[midden]

Thats the one Iam trying to get on.....2mins from mums house 

Oh yeah I know it well 

[Arfa]

Thats the one Iam trying to get on.....2mins from mums house 

Well let us know if you go. It's a bit of trek for me, wrong side of London, but I figured why not, it's free, hopefully learn something.

[red98]

Emailed the guy on sunday, hope to hear something today.i'll let you know.......mums house.just around the corner frommy old school.you cant miss it 

[red98]

6th march now fully booked.just emailed to see if I can have the last place ont the 25th.

[JZS 600]

I did one last April to get the 2 sessions on the Brands Indy circuit, brilliant!


(first session was in the wet, go BT 023's!)

[red98]

i`ve got the last place on the 25 march  ...lofo`s..no falling off until then 

[ChristoT]

i`ve got the last place on the 25 march  ...lofo`s..no falling off until then 

Doing a cager down course too, I hope? 

[HarryHornby]

Biker down is a really good course, especially if you get to do the Brands Hatch day.


They were the brainchild of the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and started off purely in Kent, they are now spreading throughout other brigades around the country.


The main point of one of their standard (at the fire station) courses is what to do if you arrive on the scene of an accident involving a bike.  This covers things such as scene management and first aid.  There is a very good section on safe helmet removal should you find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing to provide CPR.


When I did my one there was also a really good, thought provoking presentation on the benefits or not of Hi-Vis and about being seen on a bike.


I've also attended the course at Brands Hatch, this is a must for anyone living in or around Kent.  It was £50 and that got me the standard biker down course, a classroom session on advanced road positioning, an assessed ride (one on one) with an advanced ride and a slow speed skills practical down in the paddock.....and then, the best bit.....two twenty minute sessions out on the track!  The sessions aren't aimed at going fast, they are for all abilities and are about giving people the experience of riding on the track.  I set no records, I shouted weeeeeeeee (and shat my pants) as I went down Paddock Hill Bend, I was quicker than most through surtees, and slower everywhere else LOL.  I came back in one piece, with a big grin and a photo of me going round Brands (bit of a boyhood dream really).


Biker down....great course!


Go to Facebook and like Kent Fire Bike for info and a bit of banter......

[Kent Fire Bike]

Hi all
Jim Sanderson here from the Kent Fire Bike Team. One of your number sent me a link to this thread through our facebook page Kent Fire Bike https://www.facebook.com/kentfirebike?ref=hl and so I thought I'd stop by and clarify a few things for you all!
Biker Down was devised by me in response to a 'gap in the market', as I saw it there was further work needed by Road Safety Practitioners when it came to engaging with Bikers and I realised that what we (Bikers) wanted was practical advice and relevant knowledge as opposed to finger wagging, shaking heads and advice on the fact that Bikes are dangerous!
As has already been said Biker Down started with Kent Fire and Rescue and is made up of 3 modules:
1. Scene Management, based on my own training as a Fire-fighter and the training I deliver to fire-fighters as a Road Traffic Collision Instructor , what to do when you first arrive, considerations and priorities, delivered (in Kent) by yours truly we try to make it staright forward fun, gritty and practical.
2. First Aid Section where we use our own (KFRS) First Aid Instructors and members of the British Motorsport Rescue Team to deliver practical lessons in CPR/HELMET REMOVAL and Managiing MAJOR BLEEDS and TRAUMA as to be expected at a MC accident.
3. The Science of Being Seen. delivered by an Advanced Instructor and Author of many motorcycling texts, Kevin Williams from Survival Skills Motorcycle Training. In this he talks about Hi-Viz and when and why it works but more about WHWN IT DOESN'T! He also discusses the phenonomen of Motion Camouflage and Looming amongst other stuff!
At the end of the course you are issued with lots of practical goodies including an Aide Memoire and First Aid kit.
National Biker Down. There is a BIKER DOWN UK page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Biker-Down-UK/313603138706100?ref=hl
We now have about 10/11 teams around the UK with Milton Keynes and Wales being very active after Kent (we run two courses a month from Ashford Fire Station). ALL BIKER DOWN COURSES ARE FREE OF ANY CHARGE we are a Public service and you have paid in effect, in your taxes. Ride Skills is £50 and as someone pointed out this is because we have to pay for the track use although Brands Hatch and MSV let us have the rest of the facilities we use all day free of charge because of who we are.
 
RIDE SKILLS
Is exactly as has been described above except don't be fooled the First  Aid on Ride Skills IS NOT THE SAME as a Full Biker Down course.
If you are interested in attending either of these or both, my e-mail is james.sanderson@kent.fire-uk.org and if you are members of this forum lets try and get you all on a course together!
All the best to you all.
Stay Sunny side up! 
Fire-fighter Jim Sanderson
Kent Fire Bike Team

[Punkstig]

Thanks for saying hi dave, Pete, Martin?
(Jim likes to copy paste emails, understandably, but sometimes forgets to change the names!)
Not asking for miracles but it really would be good if we could get on the ride skills (brands hatch) day together!
I've done a met bikesafe day which I really enjoyed, but this day should be very educational!

[Andy FZS]

Thanks for the info it sounds good BUT...are any of these courses run in the East Yorkshire area?
Cheers Andy

[JZS 600]

Go Jim!


Brilliant day last year in April at Brands, well worth it

[mtread]

I'm very much up for this

[The Spin Doctor]

Good Morning All...


Following on from Jim Sanderson's reply about 'Biker Down', my name's Kevin Williams of Survival Skills Rider Training and I'm the guy who put together the third module for the course. When we piloted Biker Down in Kent, Jim wanted something 'proactive' to go with the accident scene management and the first aid modules - ie, something to help stop riders actually needing someone else to deliver those skills on them! So we put our heads together and come up with the 'Science of Being Seen'. As far as I know, the other Biker Down courses outside Kent are running their own versions of our presentation. They contain some great info for all riders, of all ages and Jim's been a bit shy and forgotten to mention we won a Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award for the course in 2012! If you can get along to your local fire and rescue service and do Biker Down, it really is valuable stuff.


The most common motorcycle accident is a collision at a junction. They've been happening since an engine got stuck in a bicycle frame over 100 years ago and in the UK they continue to happen despite 60 years of safety campaigns like 'Think Bike'. More importantly, they happen whether riders are in Europe, N America and Australia / New Zealand wearing hi-vis clothing and using day riding lights, and they happen in South America or in Thailand where riders wear flipflops, carry a buffalo on one shoulder and wear a rice strainer on their heads. In short, junction collisions happen all over the world wherever people ride bikes!

So rather than just tell riders they should ride around like Dayglo Derek, we explain that there's no quick fix!


The idea of the session is to help riders understand why it is that bikes don't get seen by drivers, even when we think there's no way we can miss us and to try to get over the idea that it's not simply 'bad driving' but it's actually a human eye / brain problem - human beings were never designed for hurtling round the countryside or through busy towns at high speed and our eyes and brains play tricks on us and don't work the way they think they do.


Then we explain the pitfalls of relying too heavily on hi-vis and dipped headlights in daytime and reflective material at night. And we round off with a quick review of the positive steps we can take to make ourselves a bit safer at junctions and avoid the frights and the offs.


The presentation is based on real science - in fact, at last night's Biker Down I mentioned a new bit of research which was only published in Australia a days ago, which I haven't yet had time to put into the slide show. I've written a book called 'MIND over MOTORCYCLE' which covers the conspicuity problem and a lot more. You can also find out about our other books if you follow that link, as well as access an archive of free articles on better riding skills.


We also present a module for the 'Ride Skills' session at Brands Hatch. Here we also do something theory but it's presented in a completely different style to the usual dry 'Roadcraft' lecture. It's highly interactive and although I won't spoil it by telling you what you will learn, I will say that you'll be surprised! All in all, Ride Skills is a good day out, and a bargain for £50!


We run practical training courses in Kent and Oxford (in Kent from mid-Feb if the weather's OK, in Oxford from mid-March or thereabouts), but we don't just churn out the usual 'by the book' training based on Motorcycle Roadcraft, we've looked a motorcycle training all over the world and pinched the best bits, as well as looking at cutting edge scientific research into rider safety. So if you're interested in something that will really challenge the way you think and ride, drop us a line!