the Independent Riders Group will protest against the proposed compulsory high
visibility vest and lights-on laws for novice motorcycle & scooter riders and the
coming compulsory boots for riders law.
It is short notice, but only VicRoads insiders knew the threat was imminent.
Consultation was an elaborate sham.
Most motorcycle & scooter organisations were taken by surprise.
The IRG supports improved road user education, especially for car drivers who
cause most of the injury and death on our roads. The Graduated Licence System
(GLS) makes it harder, and a lot more expensive, to get a bike licence while
doing nothing to promote car driver awareness of vulnerable road users, including us.
The IRG supports the voluntary use of protective clothing and would consider a
ban on thongs/sandals/hi-heels for riders but NOT compulsory boots, gloves,
jackets & pants which is what VicRoads/TAC/police are pushing for. In my opinion,
these long-term plans have nothing to do with our safety and everything to do with more
fines and making it harder to own a motorcycle or scooter.
The Motorcycle Advisory Group (MAG) at VicRoads failed to warn the motorcycle
community of the dangers hidden in the GLS and the planned boots law. These rider
restrictions are proposed while real road safety measures like driver awareness
campaigns, the use of bus lanes and legitimising traffic filtering were again delayed
by VicRoads.
On May 26 riders will gather ati VicRoads car park at 60 Denmark Street in Kew.
Melways map 45 reference C7.
The IRG will be there from 7 am.
Riders can join us for all or part of the protest. It is a work day so many may not be able
to make it but this is very important so riders should do their best to attend.
These laws will effect all Victorians. If introduced here, they will spread interstate and
expand to cover more and more riders. If you can't be there on May 26, go see your MP.
2014 is a Victorian election year.
www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members
Speeches are at 8 am.
The IRG will demand a meeting with Minister Mulder that morning.
For the latest information on the May 26 protest visit:
www.facebook.com/independentridersgroup
www.facebook.com/northernregisterirg
Damien Codognott OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne
***********************************************************************
To the sitting members of Victorian Parliament.
I agree with Mr Codognotto's points and also warn that nobody in the
motorcycle community wants these foolhardy proposals to be made law.
(Why aren't cycle riders being targeted by this?)
As Damien points out there is an election coming and the Coalition is
a minority government.
Neale Brumby- EDITOR
HEAVY DUTY MAGAZINE
Published by: BONZA MEDIA PTY LTD
HEAVY DUTY MOTORCYCLE TOURS
LICENCED TRAVEL AGENCY #33002
PO Box 96 Ascot Vale VIC 3032
Tel: 03 9317 5004
Web: http://www.heavyduty.com.au
*******************************************************************
On 14/05/14 1:34 PM, "Damien Cognotto OAM"
<d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com> wrote:
To all Victorian Members of Parliament especially members of the
Victorian Road Safety Committee.
In the interests of real motorcycle & scooter safety, please listen
to this radio podcast:
Mr John Voyage from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
Grant Delahoy for the Victorian Motorcycle Council.
http://alive905.com.au/listen/listen-again/ride-cpod/
The Independent Riders Group strongly opposes conspicuity laws.
There is no evidence to suggest these laws work.
The 2012 Parliamentary Inquiry (PIMS) did not recommend
COMPULSORY conspicuity for good reason.
The "whole of government response" to the 64 PIMS recommendations is
not credible because it was mostly written by VicRoads/TAC/police.
The compulsory conspicuity and protective clothing agenda was
released by VicRoads/TAC/police in 2010, well before the PIMS research
and study of motorcycle & scooter safety in Victoria. In our opinion
VicRoads/TAC/police had no intention of taking the PIMS
recommendations seriously and see our elected representatives as
surplus to their requirements.
326,000 Victorians are licenced to ride motorcycles & scooters. They
vote. There is an election in 2014.
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne
Vicroads 'feeding the chooks' so they can say to Pollies ' we
consulted'
They keep on doing what they want, based on their 'consultants' opinion who
charge like wounded bulls.
State based 'road safety' organisations are a waste of space
Federal Govt should take control nationally.
Federal Govt should take control nationally.
Regards S
James
Holgate
VicRoads
Dear Sir.
When we heard about bike forums in recent years we asked to attend as
legitimate stakeholders. We were told it was "invitation only". This
happened more than once, to more than one of us. When one of our
members did manage to get in to one of these forums it was described
by a panel member as "an information night". It was not described as
an exchange of views or a chance for stakeholder input.
At the one workshop we were finally invited to last March there was no
mention of compulsory conspicuity laws. Or compulsory boots.
These items were NOT recommended in the 2012 Parliamentary Inquiry
report for good reason.
Many positive items have been delayed by VicRoads. Examples: traffic
filtering & bus lanes and abolishing the TAC antibike tax.
The whole of government response to the inquiry was mostly written by
Vicroads/TAC/police so it is not credible. What is the point of having
a tax payer funded, all-party committee inquiry into motorcycle &
scooter safety if our public servants act as public officials and
overrule our elected representatives?
We strongly oppose your compulsory conspicuity and protective clothing
laws because they are not based on scientific evidence, stakeholder
consultation has been selective (a farce) and in some cases your
rules/actions put us at greater risk in traffic.
It is a bit late to be supplying this information now. I suspect it is
only because of the backlash against the media release written for
Minister Mulder.
We will look at the information you have provided and give it serious
and fair consideration, which is a lot more than you gave our
legitimate input.
The IRG is certainly not against improving road user education for ALL
road users and would probably support the GLS if the compulsory
conspicuity laws had not been attached.
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne
Dear Damien,
Rodney Blythe has passed on to me your request for information
regarding the new Motorcycle GLS. (See emails below. - DC)
1. Stakeholder consultation
VicRoads has engaged in extensive consultation to inform the design of
the recommended model.
On 2 September 2010, the then Minister for Roads and Ports released a
public discussion paper titled ‘Graduated licensing for
motorcyclists’. The public consultation phase concluded on 29 October
2010.
Tools used to inform the community about the consultation activities
for the release of the discussion paper included:
Ministerial launch (The IRG was not informed nor invited - DC)On 2 September 2010, the then Minister launched the discussion paper
with invitees from government, VMAC and motorcycle training providers.
A media release was prepared and distributed at the launch.
. Direct mailout to stakeholders (Not to IRG - DC)
On 2 September, an introductory letter, copy of the discussion paper
and a fact sheet was sent to the following stakeholders (number in
brackets indicates volumes):
- Accredited motorcycle training providers (13)
- Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council member organisations (25)
- Government stakeholders (10)
- Road safety researchers (6)
- Other Australian state road authorities (13)
- VicRoads customer service centres (1030)
Advertising
In the week commencing 5 September 2010, advertisements were placed in
the Herald Sun, Age, MX and regional newspapers covering the areas
where the information forums were being held. Advertisements were
also translated and published in ethnic newspapers (Turkish, Arabic,
Cantonese, Mandarin, Macedonian and Vietnamese).
Posters with details about the information forums and how to obtain a
copy of the discussion paper and were distributed to all VicRoads
customer service centres and accredited motorcycle training providers
throughout Victoria.
Media releases were prepared in the regions where the information
forums were being held.
Four information forums were held between 20 September 2010 and 29
September 2010 at Traralgon, Benalla, Ballarat and Melbourne. A total
of 74 people attended these forums. A report summarising the outcomes
of these forums was published on the VicRoads website but I have
attached a copy, for your convenience.
The GLS model developed following these consultations was provided to
the Parliamentary Road Safety Committee's Inquiry into Motorcycle
Safety in 2012 by way of a public supplementary submission and the
matter of high visibility clothing and mandatory headlight-on
requirements were raised by Vicroads in its verbal evidence.
2. Evidence that compulsory conspicuity measures reduce motorcycle &
scooter crashes. The role of conspicuity measures in improving
detection of motorcyclists in traffic was examined by Wells et al (BMJ
2004; 328), who reported a 37% reduction in risk for riders who wore
reflective or fluorescent clothing. In the recommendation arising
from the Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety, the Victorian Parliamentary
Road Safety Committee paid a good deal of attention to the work of
De Craen et al (2011), published by SWOV. De Craen highlights that
brightly colored high-visibility clothing is more effective in an
urban environments which, in Victoria, is where 80 per cent of
2-vehicle novice rider crashes occur (Victoria Police crash data,
2009-2013).
(In my experience, riders who volutarily wear hi viz clothing tend to
be carful in nature and would be less likely to crash. - DC)
Research regarding the role of conspicuity can also be found in
Motorcycle Conspicuity – What Factors Have the Greatest Impact?
http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/motorcycle_conspicuity_ii_w_cvr.pdf.
This study found a significant increase in detection distance of
brightly cloroured riders in both rural and urban settings. This more
recent work may not have been available to the Parliamentary Committee
when it made its deliberations as the report was not published until
June 2012.
3. VicRoads plans to study the before and after effects of the high
visibility vest law in reducing novice rider injury and fatal
motorcycle & scooter crashes VicRoads will monitor the effects of the
GLS measures on novice rider safety as part of its general road safety
data collection.
(The 2012 Inquiry and several others criticised the way crash data
was collected and assessed in this state and recommended and
independent authority to take over that role. - DC)
4. Definition of a high visibility vest? Colour? Reflectivity? Areas?
It is intended that the definition of a high-visibility vest will
align with Class D/N garments as specified in AS4602, High-visibility
safety garments. Regulatory amendments to implement this are currently
being prepared.
5. Compulsory boots for motorcycle & scooter riders
On February 28, 2013, The Victorian Premier announced in the
Victoria's Road Safety Action Plan 2013-2016 that the Government would
"introduce a mandatory requirement for motorcyclists to wear boots
that are at least ankle high to better protect them".
A copy of the Action plan can be obtained from
http://www.roadsafety.vic.gov.au/images/strategy/road_safety_action_plan.pdf.
As I advised you during our discussion on this matter, last year, our
current plans are to recommend a requirement that preserved the
ability riders to have a free choice of the type of boot chosen to
comply with this requirment with no specific performance standard
being imposed.
Work toward implementing this policy is currently underway.
6. GLS Implementation date
The GLS has not yet been made law. The various components will be
implemented via legislation or regulation and the timing of these will
be determined by the Government and Parliament. However, the
Government's announcement regarding the GLS, on 1 May 2014, indicated
that the first stages of the GLS are planned to be introduced in
October 2014. You may also care to note that the new GLS restrictions
will only apply to new learners or novice riders from the
implementaion date, existing riders would not be affected (Yet. - DC).
Further changes will be introduced in 2015 to introduce the more
significant changes, including mandatory training and on-road
assessment.
I trust that this information is of help to you.
regards
James Holgate
Director, Vehicle and Road Use Policy
VicRoads
60 Denmark Street
Kew VIC 3101
From: DAMIEN CODOGNOTTO OAM <d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com>
To: motorcycles@roads.vic.gov.au,
Cc: james.holgate@roads.vic.gov.au,terence.mulder@parliament.vic.gov.au,
<luke.donnellan@parliament.vic.gov.au>, <robsalvv@gmail.com>
Date: 14/05/2014 10:12 AM
Subject: Re: GLS RESEARCH?
Rodney Blythe
Policy and Programs
VicRoads
Dear Sir.
Thanks for your reply.
The Independent Riders Group would like the answers to the specific
questions about stakeholder consultation and detailed information
about peer-reviewed research on the GLS itself and on the high
visibility vest law and on the lights-on law in writing as soon as
possible.
The IRG was NOT included in stakeholder consultation. The IRG strongly
opposes VicRoads COMPULSORY CONSPICUITY measures.
The IRG knows of no scientific research that provides evidence that
compulsory conspicuity measures reduce motorcycle & scooter crashes.
A third question. What plans do VicRoads have to study the before and
after effects of the high visibility vest law in reducing novice rider
injury and fatal motorcycle & scooter crashes?
A fourth question. What is the definition of a high visibility vest?
Colour? Reflectivity? Areas?
A fifth question. Is VicRoads or any other government agency working
on making boots COMPULSORY for motorcycle & scooter riders?
Can you please confirm that the GLS has NOT been made law to May
14, 2014 and advise the date it will go to state parliament for a
vote?
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne
Hi Damien,
My apologies for the delaying responding. I will endeavour to
update the M-GLS webpage in the next few weeks to include the
information you are seeking or send it through as an email.
Regards
Rodney Blythe
Policy and Programs
03 9854 2713
From: DAMIEN CODOGNOTTO OAM <d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com>
To: motorcycles@roads.vic.gov.au,
Cc: terence.mulder@parliament.vic.gov.au,luke.donnellan@parliament.vic.gov.auDate: 06/05/2014 10:59 AM
Subject: GLS RESEARCH?
RODNEY I BLYTHE
SENIOR POLICY ANALYST
VICROADS
POLICY AND PROGRAMS
Dear Sir,
Minister Mulder's media release on the Graduated licence system
claimed that in developing the Graduated Licence System there had been
widespread stakeholder consultation and that there was peer-reviewed
research.
Can we please have a list/schedule of the stakeholder consultation
conducted in developing the Victorian GLS?
Can we please have a copy of the peer-reviewed research conducted in
developing the GLS?
Sincerely,
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne<Public forums final report.pdf>
Damian,
Jenny
Traralgon
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 16:02:13 +1000
From: d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com
To: James.Holgate@roads.vic.gov.au
Subject: Re: GLS Research
James Holgate
VicRoads
Dear Sir.
When we heard about bike forums in recent years we asked to attend as
legitimate stakeholders. We were told it was "invitation only". This
happened more than once, to more than one of us. When one of our
members did manage to get in to one of these forums it was described
by a panel member as "an information night". It was not described as
an exchange of views or a chance for stakeholder input.
At the one workshop we were finally invited to last March there was no
mention of compulsory conspicuity laws. Or compulsory boots.
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 16:02:13 +1000
From: d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com
To: James.Holgate@roads.vic.gov.au
Subject: Re: GLS Research
James Holgate
VicRoads
Dear Sir.
When we heard about bike forums in recent years we asked to attend as
legitimate stakeholders. We were told it was "invitation only". This
happened more than once, to more than one of us. When one of our
members did manage to get in to one of these forums it was described
by a panel member as "an information night". It was not described as
an exchange of views or a chance for stakeholder input.
At the one workshop we were finally invited to last March there was no
mention of compulsory conspicuity laws. Or compulsory boots.
and so on ....
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