Staffordshire biker encourages others to ‘BikeSafe’

As part of our current campaign, Op Reclaim, we are aiming to educate motorbike riders on how to use the road safely and legally.

We are offering rider training opportunities, such as BikeSafe, to increase riders’ confidence and experience on the road and to help reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Staffordshire’s roads.

BikeSafe is a police-led road safety initiative that offers new and experienced bikers access to online learning, theory classes, observed rides and feedback from advanced police motorcyclists.

The workshops take place multiple times a year across the UK and cover areas such as overtaking, filtering, junctions and hazard awareness.

Ian Hartshorne, from Stoke-on-Trent, took part in a BikeSafe course in Staffordshire in June 2024 and says he would ‘highly recommend it to anyone’.

Ian first passed his motorbike test over 40 years ago and said he learnt about Bike Safe when he read a leaflet about the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership.

He said: “To be honest I was unsure if the course would be for me because I’d been riding so long, but I really enjoyed it and thought it was absolutely fantastic.

“I can’t express how much the police riders put you at ease, the tips they give you are invaluable and the whole day was just fantastic.”

The workshops typically take only one day to complete, the first half of which focuses on theory and the rest on a supervised ride with feedback.

Ian said: “The day was absolutely fantastic to take part in as someone who’s interested in biking and keeping safe.

“My son has just passed his motorcycle test and he’ll be taking part in the Staffordshire BikeSafe course on 22 June but it isn’t only useful for new riders, I’ve been riding for 40 years and learnt a lot about keeping safe on the road.

“I’m a lorry driver and I use many of the tips I learnt on BikeSafe on a daily basis, my vision is better because I’m looking for different things and further afield.”

“As part of the supervised ride, we went along various roads where there have been serious collisions in the past so it was really useful to learn how to navigate these roads safely.”

Inspired by his experience of BikeSafe and wanting to build on this, Ian has since gone on to complete further motorcycle training including the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership Bike Sense course.

Following this he joined the Staffordshire Advanced Riders and with their support he decided to take an advanced motorcycle test last month, where he received a ‘Gold’ result.

BikeSafe costs £84 for the day course, an expense that Ian says ‘is completely worth it if you consider what you’re getting out of it, which is life-saving skills’.

Spaces are available on BikeSafe in Staffordshire from July. Find out more and book your space here: In-Contact by Take A Byte.