The Victoria Police, backed by Melbourne's Herald Sun, are pushing front ID for motorcycles & scooters again. In my opinion this antibike propaganda is timed to vilify riders when state ministers are considering the 2012 parliamentary inquiry into motorcycle & scooter safety report and which of its' recommendations to adopt.
Victorian Ministers are looking at the PIMSS recommendations in May. Their decisions are due to be made public on June 15, 2013.
www.parliament.vic.gov.au/rsc/inquiries/article/1409
Motorcycle & scooter riders should go see their local MPs and demand a fair go NOW. There is a state election in 2014. Tell your MP you won't forget him/her on election day.
www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members
With all that is happening at home and around the world the Herald Sun's front page image of a rider supposedly in Shepparton, supposedly doing 118 kph in a 50 kph zone is gross overkill.
The Independent Riders' Group does not condone in any way the irresponsible use of bikes. Irresponsible riders do great damage to our community. Fortunately irresponsible riders are a tiny minority. A tiny minority that front ID will do nothing to reduce.
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders' Group
Melbourne
In my opinion not having front number plates is not about aerodynamics or that they will cause an accident, but what they can do if for some other reason there is an accident. I have been in the situation where I have had to hold the head of a rider who was the victim of a car driver falling asleep at the wheel, with a front number plate sticking out the side of his head (in the days when bikes had front number plates but where since repealed due to safety reasons!) In the end it has merely gone down between his head and his helmet and bent at a right angle so it only looked like it was embedded into his skull, but at the time you could not tell and it well could have been as we feared. It is something I will never forget and you cannot convince me that, for any reason, front number plates are a good idea.
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