At a glance
Do you drive every day on the roads around Brussels while listening to the radio? If so, you've probably already seen or heard him!
Do you drive every day on the roads around Brussels while listening to the radio? If so, you've probably already seen or heard him!
Who is Redion's Biker?
He rides the congested roads of the capital in all weather, in the morning and late afternoon, to inform you live about traffic conditions in Brussels and its outskirts.
He takes the pulse of traffic from Monday to Friday and delivers his "Traffic Info" live to the Perex Centre and to RTBF (Vivacité, Viva Bruxelles, Classic21 and La Première).
You'll catch him live on air on these radio stations around 7:10am, 7:36am, 7:50am, 8:16am and 8:36am, and in the afternoon around 5:12pm, 6:07pm...
If needed, he'll also be there at other times of the day if there are major problems on the roads.
Serge introduces himself
He introduces himself and explains the particulars of his mission:
Biker and instructor
"On top of being "Redion's Biker", I'm also an instructor at a "motorcycle and driving school". My collaboration with Redion started in 2007. Sometimes the schedule and weather conditions make the work difficult, but I love what I do. More and more people recognise me or recognise my motorcycle and wave at me in the traffic queues. It's nice!
I ride for Redion 6 hours a day, every weekday except weekends, public holidays and school holidays. My day starts early, since my first live radio slot is just after 7am. I get up early, listen to the first traffic reports, call the Perex Centre and then head to the day's first hotspot to assess the situation. When I'm stuck in a jam, I estimate the length of the queues in both directions, try to see which surrounding roads are affected and whether there are possible detour routes, then I pass this information on to the radio. My mission isn't to carry out roadside repairs.
Sometimes friends or contacts also call me to report an accident or a traffic problem.
My motorcycle
For almost four years, I rode a big Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter. Later on, I moved up to a bigger machine in Redion and RTBF colours.
A daily mission that isn't always easy
The advantage of the motorcycle in traffic jams goes hand in hand with one of its biggest challenges: carefully weaving between cars while paying close attention to those who might suddenly change lanes. Touch wood: in all these years, I still haven't had any trouble.
But that's not the only difficulty. When I go on air, I'm often on the motorway, and for my voice to be audible on the radio, I need to find somewhere to stop, which is in principle forbidden on the motorway's emergency lane. The police have already had the chance to remind me of that!
I also have to respect speed limits despite the urgency of my mission. In more than 11 years, I've only been caught speeding twice, at 4 km/h over the limit… !
Drivers' attitude can be very friendly, since many of them know me from the radio. But unfortunately, I often notice that some of them act carelessly. Quite a few Belgian drivers still aren't fully ready to "share" the road with bikers.
A little anecdote
A few years ago, I skidded and fell in the snow. It's the only fall I've had since I started this job. The problem was that the fall happened just a few seconds before my traffic slot on the radio. So I spoke while lying in the snow, right in the middle of Boulevard du Souverain, without saying a word, of course, about what was happening to me. You always have to stay positive!"
Do you spot Serge on the road?
Don't hesitate to give him a friendly little wave.
Also read our "Bikers" feature
