A motorcyclist from Kingston, Ont., is launching a new first aid program with the help of the Canadian Red Cross that aims to reduce the number of deadly motorcycle crashes.
Ontario Provincial Police say fatal motorcycle collisions are on the rise in eastern Ontario, with 13 deaths on the roads they monitor since the start of 2024 — a 60 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
That’s partly why Steve Reed is drawing on his past experiences to launch a free first aid certification program aimed at empowering riders to save lives.
“You can imagine — because motorcyclists all ride the same great roads, or we ride in groups oftentimes — that first responder on scene is going to be a fellow motorcyclist,” said Reed, the president of Biker Down North America.
“So by empowering them to have the basic skills to stop a major bleed [or] perform CPR, we really have an opportunity here to reduce [the] killed and seriously injured numbers.”
Community impact fuels urgency for training
A seasoned motorcyclist, Reed said he was 16 years old and “riding above my ability” when he first experienced the trauma of a crash first-hand.
The Biker Down program originated in the United Kingdom in 2011. Reed said he connected with the founder roughly four years ago and through a partnership with the Canadian Red Cross was able to bring it to Canada.
The training covers three big topics: how to manage the scene of an accident, how to provide first aid, and how to improve rider visibility.
Participants receive hands-on training and, at the end, get a three-year first aid certification from the Red Cross.
“Anybody who’s in the motorcycling community has heard, ‘Biker down, check your people!'” Reed said. “That always sends a shiver down your spine — to think it could be someone in your community.”
Reed understands that all too well.
On July 31, a 33-year-old motorcyclist and their 22-year-old passenger were killed in a head-on collision in Kingston — and the passenger, Reed said, was his niece’s best friend.
“I can only imagine what her parents are going through. But my niece was traumatized from it as well,” he said. “So it has a lot of collateral damage, when we hear about these accidents in the community.”
More than 50K registered
In Ottawa, motorcycle collisions that lead to death or injury have many contributing factors, with single-vehicle crashes and ones that involve left turns or head-on impacts being the most common, according to a city spokesperson.
A study of motorcycle crashes between 2017 and 2021 showed that while collision locations were distributed across Ottawa, some crashes were “more concentrated within the downtown core and urban areas,” the city’s statement said.
Reed said more than 50,000 Canadian riders have pre-registered for the program, which is set to launch in two weeks.
It will be available in six provinces, including Ontario.
“Hopefully, once we get this up and running and launched across Canada, we can move into other areas where we can help vulnerable road users, such as cyclists,” he said. “So that’s sort of plan B — cyclists down.”