Response from Lancs constabulary re; bike safe.

well the people from round here know that lancs dont run bike safe so i email them and got some answers below is what i sent and the responces recevied

Sent: 15 March 2009 11:04
To: LancashirePolice
Subject: bike safe courses
as a recent motorcycle licence holder ive been looking to get some more training to improved my safety on the roads, i have come across "bike safe" which i'm sure you are aware is run by the police to help with such things. but to my surpise lancs police dont do it (unlike every other force in the uk by the looks if it) do you conduct other training? or is it not a priority with my local force ( if not why not) any feedback on this would be appreciated

yours respectfully

david hill


Good Afternoon Dave

Your e-mail has been forwarded to me as the Constabulary Road Safety Adviser.

You’re right Lancashire doesn’t run bikesafe courses at the moment for a variety of different reasons, but we do offer a wide selection of other courses, which cater for all different levels and standards of riders, so that we hopefully don’t leave anyone out.

Lancashire has been successfully running an initiative called RideSafe BackSafe (RSBS – www.ridesafebacksafe.co.uk ) since 2006, which not only looks at training for motorcyclists, but has a more holistic approach by looking at other areas to promote rider safety and awareness such as kit and clothing advice and also raising awareness to other road users, who unfortunately play part in motorcycle crashes. I notice you mention casualty reduction in your e-mail and I am glad to say that in the first two years of RSBS, we reduced motorcycle fatal’s by 64%, so we must be working along the right lines.

So onto the various courses, we offer courses at all levels from learners to advanced as motorcycling is very much a priority for us.

The various courses are as follows

Free Assessment – This assessment can be carried out at a time place and location suitable to you. They are completely free and last approximately for 1 hour. You will be taken out by professional instructors and are available seven days a week. There is no test at the end of this just friendly advice.

Level One course – This is a three hour practical course. It will help you gain confidence and experience on the road and make you more aware of hazards. This course is aimed more towards the new rider
Level Two – This is a progression from level one and for full licence holders. It is a four hour practical course aimed at increasing your understanding of road risks. It will help you deal with today’s variety of road traffic situations.

Level Three – Aimed at riders with a minimum of two years riding experience or those who have already completed level 2. The course consists of a one hour briefing session along with four hours on road training. It focuses on not only enhancing your riding skills but also looks at your attitude and behaviour and how that affects the way you ride. If you complete this course you are given the opportunity to take the DIAmond Advanced riding test

There are costs associated to level 1-3, but for more information on the costs, please contact Rob Winn, on 01772

Finally we run a joint Ridesafe BackSafe/IAM course. This is excellent value for money and a truly enjoyable day. The course is run of a weekend, generally Saturday or Sunday. It consists of a classroom based morning session, which provides an introduction to RideSafe BackSafe and then goes into hazard perception, positioning and the more theoretical side of riding. Around lunch time, you will be paired up with an appropriate assessor from the IAM, who will take you out for about 1- 1 ½ hours. Throughout this session you will be in radio contact and the assessor will give you some hints and tips on your riding abilities and style.

On returning your assessor will go through your ride and give you some indications of where you could improve. We are just reviewing the cost of this course, but at the moment it costs £20, for the day, including light refreshments. In addition if you decide on the day that you would like to go on further and complete your advanced, you will get the cost of this course deducted, which means it works out completely free. I will be arranging a date shortly for the next course so if you are interested, please let me know.

I hope I have demonstrated that we provide a wide range of course, suitable to all levels of riders, not just the more advanced rider and ones which are tailored specifically to you. By running these types of courses it also means we can run as many courses as demand requires.

Please do not hesitate to contact me further about any of the above courses, or for any further information on biking in general. Even if I don’t know the answers personally, I will always know someone who does.

Best Wishes
Road Safety Advisor
Lancashire Police

Sent: 20 March 2009 22:01
To: Williams, Shelby
Subject: RE: bike safe courses

thankyou for this information and yes i would love to be on one of your next available coures please email me with the details.

with your permission i would like to post your email on sv650.org as i have many friends in lancs who also would be interested and also have not found much available training.

feel free to look up the site and see what its about, helped me no end and its not one of these idiot sites

thanks again and i look forward to hearing from you again
dave hill

Hi Dave

Sorry I haven’t come back to you sooner, I am in the midst of finishing off the organising of the RideSafe Rendezvous on the 19th April – are you coming along to it?. It’s a free one day bike show with lots going, including traders, stunt shows and bands – It would be good to catch up there. There is more info on www.ridesafebacksafe.co.uk

Anyway I will hopefully be sitting down with Ian from the IAM who I run the courses with to set some new dates so I will let you know asap, if I don’t contact you shortly just give me a nudge

Quite happy for you to put the information about the courses on the site and if you could mention the Rendezvous as well that would be great.

Speak soon

Shelby

well i'll be going for a gander and if any ov you want contact details for the above pm me

Well Well

Makes me wish I lived in Lancs.

I think I will try a similar email to Suffolk police (but they do run a "Bike Safe") and see if there is something going on here that i just dont know about.

If there is I will post it up in this thread.

excellent-shows its not just about nicking bikers

Well done to the Lancashire police.

Now if only they could pass on that attitude to Greater Manchester.

Great attitude and good too see a helpfull response from those that don't usually give either a thought.....

Well done that man, if you dont ask! Fair play to Lancs Police, they dont offer bike safe by name, but the assessment is almost the same thing, perhaps with less briefings. Lancs do offer more than some other forces though, which sound very good.

[Spiderman]

Good work for sending the email and great work from Lancs police for doing so much to educate bikers and other road users too.

Wish more forces spent time educating rod users to be bike aware.

just did the free assesment last sunday at the end the instructor reccomended doing the iam course, didn't say what it cost though.

[BigFootIsBlurry]

Was the assessment worth while?