Police helping charity teach Hampshire motorcyclists to be safer - and give life-saving roadside first aid

Charity volunteers who help save the lives of young motorcyclists, provide first aid training and improve road safety across Hampshire are getting extra funding from police.

On average, six motorcyclists are killed and nearly 100 seriously injured every week in the UK, while over 19,000 motorcyclists are injured on our roads each year.

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, is now providing £20,000 to the DocBike charity to expand its outreach, with support from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit.

DocBike will run free motorbike courses for 17-35-year-olds throughout the summer and into Spring 2027. The monthly NextGen sessions, starting in Eastleigh this weekend, will teach casualty care provision, raise rider awareness of the warning signs of a collision, and how to safely change their riding skills.

DocBike will also use the funding to attend organised bike meetings and pop-up in locations where bikers gather, to have safety conversations and raise awareness of the charity’s activities. Through this, they aim to help motorcyclists become more skilful, better informed, and safer on two wheels.

Donna Jones said: “Motorbike riders face a disproportionate risk on our roads. They account for one per cent of the miles travelled in the UK, but 18 to 25 per cent of the deaths and serious injuries. They aren’t involved in more collisions than car drivers, they just come off much worse when they do.

“The work of DocBike and especially their NextGen courses will absolutely save lives. The conversations about safety and the skillsets they can pass on, including vital roadside first aid, will be invaluable to riders across our two counties.

“We have plenty of bike meetings here during the summer months in Hayling Island, Portsmouth, Southampton, Cadnam, Winchester and Alton which also provides a great opportunity for DocBike to meet with bikers and get the safety message out there.”

NextGen is a free course designed for young riders of all experience levels to help them with what to do at the scene of a road crash, next steps to becoming a better and safer rider on the roads, bike skills, bike security, and bike maintenance.

Attendees just need a CBT and a working bike, while everyone doing the course receives a free high security bike D-lock and a first aid kit, funded by the PCC. CPR training mannequins, a training and a live defibrillator machine (AED), and engagement tools for attending biker events will also be provided by the funding.

Chris Wood, DocBike’s regional lead for Hampshire, added: “As an entirely voluntary organisation, having the support of the Police and Crime Commissioner enables us to continue to do the work we do. This funding will go straight into upskilling bikers, through our NextGen course, our casualty care provision as well as our attendance at bike nights and other events.

“We are a new, but much needed resource in Hampshire and our mission is to support bikers to become more skilful riders. Our team enjoy chatting about bikes and are relaxed, understanding riders themselves.

“Whatever your ride, whatever your experience, we encourage everyone to see what we're about.”

To book a space on one of these sessions, follow this link to DocBike.