DOC BIKE

BikerDown is a FREE course, taught only by emergency service professionals, on how to keep an injured motorcyclist alive until the ambulance arrives. It was created by Jim Sanderson from Kent Fire and Rescue Service and is taught all over the UK by emergency service personnel who are dedicated to saving the lives of others and helping the public to know what to do, should they arrive at the scene of a motorcycle collision.

When a motorcyclist has a collision, at speed; there are no roll cages, no seat belt tensioners, and often no crumple zones and no airbags. The simple fact is that the forces that the rider are subjected are so great in a crash, that the injuries sustained are often un-survivable. If the rider does survive, they are often left with crippling injuries. 

Unique research carried out by the DocBike charity in the UK using Trauma Audit & Research Network data combined with police crash investigations show that up to 80% of these collisions could be avoided all together, if we equip motorcyclists with the abilities to recognise the warning signs when they’re riding and give them the skills to avoid the crash. 

DocBike as a charity recognises the limitations of engaging with ‘at-risk’ riders, helping them to become more aware of what might kill them and giving them tips and skills on how to avoid being in a collision in the future. We recognise the limitations of all human interactions when riding and driving; which is why as a charity, DocBike is keen to ‘design out’ motorcycle collisions through innovation 

A lot of work has already been done around re-designing street signs to make them less lethal when a rider is in collision with them, but there’s more work that can be done, particularly with improvements in car design and mobile phone app technology. 

Although we are a relatively new charity, DocBike has big plans. We are already starting our strategic engagement with car and motorcycle manufacturers to design life-saving innovation into new vehicles. 

All of our riders are serving doctors, paramedics or practitioners who look after critically ill and injured patients in the pre-hospital environment as part of their day job. They give their time voluntarily to help keep motorcyclists on two wheels because they know the devastation that can be caused when a motorcyclist is involved in a crash. Irrespective of the seniority of the clinician & the critical care equipment carried, the forces involved when a motorcyclist crashes are often simply to great to be survivable. That’s why the main aim of the DocBike charity and riders is to help prevent motorcycle collisions from occurring in the first place through engagement and education. 

That said, the riders have a duty of care to everyone, be they pedestrians, car drivers or people who are medically unwell and if a member of the public needs urgent medical intervention to keep them alive, the DocBike riders will provide that care just as if they had arrived by ambulance or helicopter; in a governed process in alignment with their local emergency services. 

The DocBike charity is passionate about making a difference. We’re not in this to make ourselves look good, our aim is to eradicate motorcycle related deaths and serious injuries from our roads in the UK.  To do this, we work in collaboration with organisations locally and across the UK, sharing our research and data to maximise the benefits from our work with no other agenda, other than to keep motorcyclists on two wheels and keep families together.