Word is that, regardless of the tourist dollar and in spite of police claims that they only pull up riders who are doing nothing wrong for the rider's safety, that this holiday season police in Victoria will blitz the blue blazes out of the motorcycle community.
Be careful out there.
Damien
IRG
Luke Donnellan MP
Minister for Roads
The attached newspaper stories demonstrate how motorcycle statistics get distorted, how rules in need of review are neglected and why we need a campaign to improve the relationship between police and scooter road riders.
I have been in several meetings where police have claimed that a significant percentage of Victorian road riders do not wear helmets which is rubbish. Victoria has a 99% compliance rate with helmet laws for road riders. The way police collect data on riders and crashes is what causes the distortion in the figures.
This is very bad for road safety in this state and grossly unfair to riders trying to do the right thing.
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesperson
Independent Riders' Group (IRG)
PO Box 4330
Doncaster Heights Vic 3109
www.damiencodognottooamblogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htoKLe48n84
THE HERALD SUN
LETTERS
Rider Luke Johnson isn't alone being booked for a trivial offence in 2014.
I was near King Lake. I was pulled over. He couldn't find anything wrong with me or my bike so I got a 15 minute lecture on safe riding. I have been riding since 1967. Cars passed us obviously over the speed limit.
A thirty-something business man was pulled up out of Healesville. When no offence was found, he was booked for his store-bought number plate holder.
A young bloke going to work was booked for a helmet camera. Bicyclists are encouraged to use helmet cams and footage has been used in court.
A highway patrolman told the press his officers would pull up just about every motorbike they saw on the way to the Phillip Island GP. Touring riders pump some $800 million into the state economy each year. Police discouraged a lot of tourers from coming back.
Luke was fined $295 and 3 points for riding without a helmet. He was wearing a good helmet but his visor was tinted. Sun glasses are allowed though. This demonstrates the state of neglect of motorcycle & scooter laws in Victoria, the unreliability of our road safety statistics and the nature of policing when it comes to motorcyclists. It's not about safety.
Would police treat 4WD or ute drivers this way?
Damien Codognotto
Independent Riders Group
Melbourne
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