Funding boost to safety on two wheels
22 July 2026
Work by a charity to help save the lives of young motorcyclists, provide first aid training and improve road safety across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is receiving a funding boost.
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.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, is now providing £20,000 to the DocBike charity to expand its outreach into the two counties, with support from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit.
DocBike will run free motorbike courses for 17 to 35-year-olds throughout the summer and into Spring 2027. The monthly NextGen sessions, starting 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 1% of the miles travelled in the UK, but 18 to 25% 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 said: “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.”
The first of the summer NextGen courses sold out in just two days and takes place this weekend (Sun 26th) in Eastleigh with more than 30 participants. Further courses are available to book on the Isle of Wight on 23rd August and on 27th September in Portsmouth.
DocBike NextGen Courses are available to book via www.docbike.org
Alongside NextGen, this new partnership with DocBike will also help to provide greater engagement with bikers about other safety projects such as Op SmartRide, BikerDown and BikeSafe.
Op SmartRide is a new FREE course, funded by the PCC and run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The course combines classroom learning and observed rides with Roads Policing motorcyclists and is targeted specifically towards young motorcyclists.
BikerDown is a FREE course run by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, thanks to £10,000 funding from the PCC’s Emerging Needs Fund, on how to keep an injured motorcyclist alive until an ambulance arrives.
BikeSafe is a police-run motorcycle initiative, about the importance of progressing onto accredited post-test training. BikeSafe workshops are subsidised by the PCC and provide an observed ride with a police-graded motorcyclist or approved BikeSafe observer to get advice.