RACV MANAGER OMITS MOTORCYCLES

August 19, 2015. 

THE EDITOR 

THE HERALD SUN 

MELBOURNE 

Dear Sir/Madam. 

The following is some of the Independent Riders Group reaction to the RACV column in last Friday's 

Herald Sun. 

In spite of the fees and premiums paid to the RACV by motorcycle & scooter riders who mostly use 

cars too, the RACV does not give riders a fair go. 

Royalauto could do must more to educate drivers that they benefit directly from safe motorcycle & scooter commuting. Traffic filtering eases traffic congestion and you can park at least five bikes in a single car bay. 

Riders are legitimate road users who pay their road taxes and charges, fund their TAC insurance, are 

trained to a high standard and can be identified. The vast majority are law-abiding citizens who deserve 

better from the Herald Sun and the RACV. 

Damien Codognotto OAM 

Independent Riders Group 

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Hi Damien, 

Great letter. Keep the pressure on. 

H 

We know the RACV intentionally ignores motorcycles at every 

opportunity, as I have said before, whenever an initiative is discussed 

or introduced for bicycles, it should also be considered for Motorcycles. 

The RACV is irresponsible in the way it excludes motorcycles from 

any discussion and so denies many opportunities to reduce congestion and improve 

travel time for all road users. 

Regards 

S 

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Royal Auto Club of Victoria Public Policy General Manager Brian Negus again snubbed the motorcycle community in a Herald Sun article on August 14. See attached. 

The article suggested solutions to traffic congestion problems in Hoddle Street and Punt Road in Melbourne. 

He talked about everything that moved in that car-jammed carriageway except motorcycles & scooters. 

This, in spite of the fact that RACV representatives sit on committees with bike reps like the Motorcycle Advisory Group at VicRoads. 

This, at a time when the VicRoads trial permitting motorcycles & scooters to use bus lanes has been 

successful, when traffic filtering is about to be legitimised and when the City of Melbourne Motorcycle Plan 2015-18 recommends investigating new stop lines for bikes to improve traffic flow, Action M8. 

I do not believe this was a deliberate snub. I think the RACV's problem with motorbikes is similar to 

VicRoads'. I think it's ignorance overlying prejudice. Motorcycles & scooters are simply not considered 

to be anything but a traffic liability by those in the lofty, insulated upper levels of those organisations. The problem is systemic. 

If we want the motorcycle & scooter community to be treated as legitimate road users and road safety stakeholders, we have to change the system. Go see your MP! 

www.parliament.vic.gov.au

Damien Codognotto OAM 

Spokesperson 

Independent Riders' Group (IRG)