Frédéric Michel, edited by Ophélie Artaud 06:08, June 18, 2022

In Nice, for more than ten years, the gendarmerie has been inviting motorcyclists to take part in awareness days to review together the best practices to adopt on the road.

The opportunity to multiply the exercises and review simple rules, to ensure the safety of motorcyclists and all road users.

As the summer holidays approach, many French people will take their motorcycle out of the garage.

For occasional users, and even the most seasoned, it is useful to remember a few rules.

Because we must not forget that on two wheels, we are more vulnerable.

The slightest careless mistake can have serious consequences.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, for nearly ten years, the departmental road safety squadron, in conjunction with the prefecture, has been organizing awareness days.

About twenty sessions, called "curves and trajectories", are offered each year.

Exercises in real conditions

Supervised by motorcyclists from the gendarmerie and volunteers for a whole day, around forty motorcyclists multiply the exercises.

First in a public car park, then in real conditions, on the road.

"We insist a lot on speed because often in the event of an accident, it is she who is in question. For example, we enter a bend too quickly and to get out of it, it is more complicated", recalls Major Éric Pannier, who commands the Nice Motorized Gendarmerie Brigade.

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"The idea is to make a requesting public benefit from the good practices of motorcyclists of the gendarmerie. In the Alpes-Maritimes, in the area watched over by the national gendarmerie, two out of three accidents involve a motorized two-wheeler. In three- quarters of the cases, it is he who is responsible for the accident in which he is involved", adds Lieutenant-Colonel Renaud Benne who commands the road safety squadron of the Alpes-Maritimes.

400 bikers sensitized each year

Yacine passed his motorcycle license a few years ago and finds this awareness day very useful.

"It's always good to have a reminder of the trajectories, the positioning of the bike, how to stand on it... These are concepts that are sometimes forgotten today", explains the biker.

In Nice, every year, 400 two-wheeled enthusiasts benefit from the advice of bikers from the gendarmerie.