KFRS GOES UP A 

GEAR TO TACKLE 

MOTORBIKE 

DEATHS

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is introducing a new superbike to its fleet

as part of a project to help persuade motorcyclists to take road safety more

seriously.

Bikers make up only one percent of motorists but account for a staggering 25

percent of those killed and seriously injured on Kent’s roads*. Fire crews are

frequently called to attend road traffic collisions where riders are trapped and are

seriously injured or killed. In the last two years alone, KFRS attended 170 road

traffic collisions involving motorcycles, mopeds and scooters.

Called Fire Bike Pitstop, KFRS’s new initiative will involve the Honda

CBR1000RR ABS Fireblade superbike being used by a team of four firefighters

(who are all Police Standard rider trained and experienced riders) at specific

events as an educational tool to raise awareness of road safety. The team will be

promoting good rider behaviour and asking riders ‘What’s your rideability?’.

Watch Manager Lawrence Pater, Fire Bike Team Leader, explains: “Motorcyclists

are fed up of getting lectured about road safety. With the Fire Bike Pitstop we are

not there to lecture or preach but to educate and engage. We wish to create an

area where people can stop by, talk to our team and gain good advice on staying

fit for the road.

“The message we will be promoting is ‘enjoy your bike; ride it sensibly on the

road to enjoy it to the best’ – which you can do by improving your riding skills to

give yourself a better chance of keeping your life.”

The Fire Bike Pitstop’s first outing was to a motorcyclist track-day at Brands

Hatch Racing Circuit on Monday 29 June, and its official launch was championed

by Supersport 600 rider James Webb.

James Webb said: “I am really pleased to be associated with this initiative by

Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Their approach should really appeal to riders and

people who are interested in racing, track days and burning rubber. Hopefully it

will encourage riders to take a more sensible approach to riding on the roads.

The advice is clear - if you do want to push the limits, do it in a controlled

environment at a race track, NOT on the roads.”

The statistics:

* figures from the Kent and Medway Camera Safety Partnership.

In the last 2 years KFRS has attended 170 RTC’s involving motorcycles,

mopeds and scooters.

Motorcyclists are 54 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured per

kilometre travelled than a car (Kent Police, 2009).

80% of motorcyclists think that they are above average riders and that accidents

only happen to others (ROSPA).

Fatal motorcycle incidents are often isolated, single vehicle incidents during

which loss of control, rider error or inappropriate speed ... resulted in fatal

consequences (Kent Police).

In the last three years (between October 2005 and September 2008) 538 riders

were killed or seriously injured in Kent and Medway (Kent Police 2009).