Our Job

The BRK motor-bike patrol is a non-commonplace operating resource since 1983. 100 motorbike-paramedics do their duty on 18 different sites throughout Bavaria. 25 motor-bikes are at their disposal. Augsburg is the largest site in Bavaria with its own trainingcenter for motorcycle-paramedics.

The motorbike-patrol of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) is purely voluntary. Approximately 300.000 km are covered annually on the streets of Bavaria, responding to about 11.000 calls. 11.000 hours of volunteer work is done this way.

The motorcycle-paramedics are able to provide rapid access to difficult-to-reach areas and congested roads, and during peak hours on arterial roads and freeways when heavy traffic slows access. Motorcycle-paramedics have a unique and invaluable role in gaining vital minutes for patients in trouble and at risk, particularly in areas with traffic congestion and access difficulties.

And in fact: getting a paramedic to the scene of an emergency quickly can be the difference between life and death.

Operational tasks:

First Responder and first medical aid

Organization on Scene

Guiding of Non-Local EMS Unit

Rescue units not familiar with local surroundings are guided by the bike-patrol to their destination.

Accident Prevention

Basic Crisis Intervention

Emergency Management and Disaster Control

The pictures of September 11 are still burned into our minds.
In case of a calamity - like the flood disaster in Germany in 2002 - the motor-bike patrol proved to be an important assistance in emergency management and information transfer. Therefore some of the bikes were especially equipped to come into operation in a mass casualty or a disaster.

Public Relations

The activities of the Bavarian Red Cross are eclectic.
As the motor-bike patrol is a non-commonplace operating resource, it serves as an attraction to the public and as an information exchange platform between the public and the BRK (organisation) itself.

Equipment

According to standards in EMS the motorbikes of the patrol are equipped with warning device (blue flashlights and sirens) as well as medical equipment like a defibrillator, an ECG, oxygen, a suction unit and an intubation kit for proper medical aid. Technically each motorbike carries a modern radio transmitting set to ensure frictionless contact to the EMS control center.

Necessary Qualification

The medical skills necessary for being part of the bike patrol are either EMT-I, Paramedic or a physician. In addition to that each member has to prove the ability of driving a motor-bike in emergency situations by means of passing a specialist training at the BRK-training center in Augsburg (Bavaria). In addition to that, regular recertification tests in driving as well as in medical terms have to be passed to ensure our constant high standard.

Claims

If we mount our bikes in the morning we do not know what our day might be like. We might stand out on the highway for hours in burning sun, supplying children stuck in a traffic jam with beverages, or guide “lost Japanese tourists” back to their coach. We might as well carry a handicapped wheelchair driver up to his flat on fourth floor and next moment applying medical aid to the victim of an accident, who is trapped in his car and severely injured, while the fire fighters use all efforts to extricate him from the scrap vehicle.

The work is physically demanding and may be psychologically and emotionally stressful.

Internal balance and ease is required to face these daily tasks.

In this place, we want to express our gratitude to our families and friends, who help to cope with these efforts by means of their love and their friendship.

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