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Road safety initiatives

Take part on the Biker Down course, or book an ItCanWait session that can help reduce the number of collisions on Suffolk's roads through education.

Being a member of the Suffolk Roadsafe Partnership Board, we work collaboratively to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Suffolk's roads.

We do this by offering road safety education to all members of the public, focusing specifically on pre-drivers/young drivers and motorcyclists.


The FireBike Project for motorcyclists

Our FireBike team attends events and biker gatherings throughout Suffolk and the Eastern Region, to talk to riders about road safety.

The team engages with motorcyclists, discussing aspects of motorcycling, including:

  • safer attitudes
  • roadcraft
  • advanced skills options
  • safer PPE
  • bike maintenance

Pit Stop events are also held, where riders can stop off from their journey and talk about the risks they face on the road.

Biker Down training course

Our 2023 Biker Down courses

To book onto a free course, please follow the links below.

As bikers tend to ride in groups or pairs, it is usually the case that when one is involved in an incident, the first person on the scene will be a fellow biker.

Biker Down is a free awareness-raising course for bikers, created by Kent Fire and Rescue Service, and consists of 3 modules:

  • Incident scene management
    A presentation about on-scene management and personal safety for bikers discovering a crash involving a fellow biker.
  • Casualty care
    Instructors from the FireBike team with motorcycle first aid specific expertise cover trauma and mechanism of injury, including snatch rescues, basic life support, CPR, managing spinal injuries and crash helmet removal.
  • The thinking biker
    Instruction and advice from the FireBike team on being conspicuous. As well as discussing phenomena such as motion camouflage and looming, including tips on what you can do to be seen, without the need to cover yourself in luminous yellow.

We offer this course to all bikers, of all standards and experience.

For updates on courses, please check Facebook @bikerdownsuffolk or Twitter @bikerdownsuff.

Please email fire.businesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk or call 01473 260588 if you've any questions.

Did you know that Suffolk and Norfolk Constabularies deliver a Safe Rider Scheme?

The workshops are run over one day and are aimed at all fully qualified riders from post test novices to experienced riders who want to improve their skills to become better and safer riders. The sessions are relaxed and informal:

  • The underlying message of our workshops is that education is the key, not enforcement.
  • In a conflict free environment, riders will be introduced to the police roadcraft system - the corner stone of police riding.
  • The workshop provides individuals with professional advice and confirms their strengths and identifies their weaknesses as a rider.
  • During the road session you will receive a demonstration ride by a police rider and there will be an opportunity to have your riding assessed with written feedback.

ItCanWait: mobile phone distraction road safety intervention

ItCanWait is a pre-driver road safety intervention delivered by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), which aims to reduce the use of mobile phones by drivers within the target audience by:

  • improving the participants attitudes to the use of mobile phones
  • decreasing their willingness to use them whilst driving
  • increasing their awareness of how mobile phones impact on the driver’s ability to maintain concentration.

ItCanWait is a 90-minute presentation, delivered by SFRS personal to 15- to 18-year-olds.

The package has been externally evaluated and the evaluation found clear evidence that the intervention has successfully:

  • decreased the participants Willingness to use a mobile phone
  • improved their views of mobile phone use
  • made them more aware of the dangers of use.

Book a session

The session lasts approximately 1.5 hours and is designed to be interactive. Therefore, groups should ideally not be greater than approximately 25 people per session. Multiple delivery sessions at the same establishment can be co-ordinated.

If you would like to book a session, please contact Fire Business Support and ask to be put through to the Prevention Department, referencing the #ItCanWait intervention: