With a shared interest in the safety of motorbike riders, police-run project BikeSafe and Roadskin protective motorcycle jeans make a dream team.
Roadskin’s owner Ian has been working with BikeSafe, a scheme in which professional police riders teach motorcyclists how to ride safely, for many years. We’re all bikers with a shared aim: to keep bikers safe on the road. Roadskin is very pleased to be supplying the BikeSafe team with our AAA-rated protective motorcycle jeans, the Taranis Elite.
What is the BikeSafe police motorbike scheme?
BikeSafe is a national initiative, run by advanced police riders from 34 police forces, that offers friendly workshops and observed rides. The goal is to help bikers ride as safely as possible, including at high speeds. Its one-day workshops comprise core theory elements, such as motorcycle control, hazard perception, cornering, junctions, overtaking, filtering and group riding, then an observed ride with feedback afterwards. Some workshops include a first aid element. The aim is to make riders more aware and thoughtful about how they ride, and to encourage the take-up in ongoing motorbike training.
Ian Wilson of Roadskin says, ‘I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve been on BikeSafe and they always say it’s absolutely brilliant. So much fun. They’re really nice guys. The police are motorcyclists and they all love their bikes too.’
As part of their outreach and promotion of safe riding, BikeSafe police officers often take their bikes to the motorcycle shows and chat to motorcyclists. There’s a lot of standing around, so they’ve ended up wearing our comfortable bike jeans rather than traditional, heavier bike gear. They liked our jeans so much they came back for our hoodies! Their key message about protective motorcycle jeans is that if you’re going to wear jeans on the bike, make sure they’re really decent bike jeans, because it makes a material difference to rider safety.
Tragically, there are around 60 serious motorcycle-related road traffic accidents, including at least one fatality, every day. Rider error is the most significant contributing factor to motorbike injuries and deaths, so it’s well worth taking a workshop, even if you consider yourself to be a safe and skilled rider.
The importance of wearing protective motorbike clothing
Alongside taking up training, there are other things riders can do to protect themselves while out on the bike. One of the simplest is to wear good quality, protective CE-approved motorcycle clothing that is abrasion-resistant and tear-resistant, and wear it with the correct armour correctly positioned (when choosing your jeans, look out for jeans with high and low pockets for a good fit). In the event of a fall or accident, you want your jeans to stay intact to save your skin, and the armour to help protect your bones from impact. Regular fashion jeans won’t give you the protection you need. What’s the difference between Roadskin jeans and conventional jeans?
Leather jacket-and-jeans is everyday go-to bike clothing, but not all jeans are equal, especially when it comes to safety on a motorbike. Research and development of protective bike jeans is carrying on at speed. The past couple of years has seen bike jeans come on to the market that look and feel like regular jeans, but give you the highest possible protection in the event of a fall or an accident. Roadskin is proud to have supplied some of the BikeSafe team with our stylish and comfortable Taranis Elite AAA-rated motorcycle jeans. Our bike jeans are among the best in the business and modern fabric technologies mean that they offer protection where you need it.
Roadskin Taranis Elite motorcycle jeans achieve an AAA safety rating (the highest possible) in a single layer by weaving the protective Kevlar fibres into soft, premium denim, so they feel and look exactly like a regular five-pocket pair of jeans. Taranis jeans also contain a good amount of elastane for stretch and comfort so they can be worn all day long. They come with removable knee and hip armour to help protect your bones and also reduce the impact of the bone against the fabric in the key areas.
Find out more and book a BikeSafe workshop
As a responsible, family-run business, and bikers ourselves, we take biker safety very seriously. We can’t recommend BikeSafe courses enough - it’s a day that might just save your life. You’ll definitely learn something and you’ll have fun, too. Visit https://bikesafe.co.uk/ to find out more and book a workshop near you.
