South Central Ambulance Paramedic urges bikers to slow down as temperatures drop
Matt Stanley has been riding motorbikes for 20 years and says in winter months, the risks are magnified
A biker - who's also a paramedic with the South Central Ambulance Service - is warning the consequences of any mistakes whilst riding in the winter, are far more severe.
Matt Stanley from Chalgrove in Oxfordshire is urging motorbike riders to slow down on the roads as the temperatures drop - as braking takes longer, visibility is reduced and cornering is riskier.
He says in the winter months, the risks are magnified and 'riding at the same speed you use in summer simply isn’t safe.'
Matt commutes to work at South Central Ambulance Service’s Wexham Park Resource Centre in Berkshire.
He's reminding fellow motorcyclists that reducing speed and adapting to winter road conditions can mean the difference between walking away and life-changing injury or death.
“I’ve been a paramedic for just over three years”, says Matt, “and in that time myself and my colleagues have been to numerous incidents caused by someone driving or riding too fast. We’ve been to patients who’ve been decapitated, lost limbs and suffered horrendous, fatal crush injuries.”
The latest road casualty figures published by the Department of Transport showed that in 2024, there were 1,671 people killed on UK roads with a further 28,804 suffering serious, life-changing injuries.
Travelling at high speed dramatically increases both the likelihood of collision and the severity of injury when crashes occur.
Matt adds: “Take it from someone who commutes to work on their motorbike, when the conditions deteriorate in winter, riding at the same speed you use in summer simply isn’t safe.
"Braking takes longer, visibility is reduced, cornering is riskier and the consequences of any mistakes are far more severe.”
Despite making up a small proportion of traffic, motorcyclists remain one of the highest risk groups. Analysis of injury rates per mile travelled shows that motorcyclists are around 45 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than car occupants.