Lifesaving Motorcycles

I was recently thinking about how essential motorcycles are and the important roles they play in the world. There are times when motorcycles save lives and I thought I’d share my thoughts on the subject.

Police 

I recall a certain police force getting rid of their bike fleet a couple of years back due to ‘health and safety concerns’ to the officers. This was quickly supported by the fact that ‘there is nothing the bikes could do that couldn’t be done by patrol cars’. Quite how someone came to this conclusion I cannot say. Without going into detail I’m sure we could think of many scenarios where a bike would be more useful than a car. The same force also realized the importance of bikes soon after they got rid of their fleet when the force was asked to escort a VIP. The force then had to draft in the bike division of a neighbouring police force to complete this task – this must have caused some embarrassment – obviously something that bikes could do that patrol cars couldn’t!

Paramedics

Bike mounted paramedics have been proven to save lives. They are quicker through traffic, able to access areas that larger vehicles cannot and are still able to carry initial lifesaving equipment. It is the first few moments of treatment at a scene that can stabilise a patient long enough for an ambulance to arrive. Down alleyways, onto train platforms and into shopping centres – this is where people can hurt  themselves and these are places that are generally inaccessible to vehicles other than bikes.

Riders for Health

This is a charity that delivers lifesaving aid by bike to remote villages in Africa. Whether it is food or medical supplies, it is because of these bikes that many families are able to survive and have access and in some cases transport to the support they need. I remember a specific situation where a mother had a desperately ill new born baby who had to be transported to the nearest hospital as soon as possible and the only way this could be done was with a charity worker and motorcycle. Rider, mother and baby on one motorcycle resulted in the medical treatment successfully being provided and a life being saved.

Yet there are still people who see motorcycles as dangerous, antisocial and unnecessary machines and there are others still who actively do all they can to try and ban bikes from being on the road. It is because of bikes that many lives have been saved and many more will still be saved by these ‘dangerous, antisocial and unnecessary machines’.