Thursday, 5 April 2012
MCC OF NSW NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2012.
The April MCC of NSW newsletter is available for download at:
http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/a/326.html
The Motorcycle Council of NSW wishes everybody a happy and safe Easter Holiday period.
Beware that double demerits apply over the Easter long weekend!
http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/a/326.html
The Motorcycle Council of NSW wishes everybody a happy and safe Easter Holiday period.
Beware that double demerits apply over the Easter long weekend!
THE CARS THAT ATE SUBURBS
From: Damien Cognotto OAM <d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com>
To: publicdefender@heraldsun.com.au
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2012, 1:34:42 PM
Subject: THE CARS THAT ATE OUR OUTER SUBURBS
APRIL 4, 2012.
===8<==============Original message text===============
Wes Hosking
Public Defender
The Herald Sun
VMC graph.
To: publicdefender@heraldsun.com.au
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2012, 1:34:42 PM
Subject: THE CARS THAT ATE OUR OUTER SUBURBS
APRIL 4, 2012.
===8<==============Original message text===============
Wes Hosking
Public Defender
The Herald Sun
"VicRoads said it had a program of improvements to keep up with
traffic on major roads."
That says a lot.
VicRoads plans to keep up with traffic (meaning cars), but it doesn't.
VicRoads does not plan for Victoria's transport needs, including all
forms of personal and frieght transport, in the medium to long term.
Motorcycles & scooters are a significant and growing part of road
transport in Australia. See the Victorian Auditor General's (VAGO)
report on motorcycle safety programs released in January 2011. There
are over 165,000 road registered bikes in Victoria. In the last decade
bike numbers have doubled while casualties have been reduced by at
least 25%. Commuter riders are one of the major growth areas
identified and documented in the VAGO report.
VMC graph.
The VicRoads/TAC/Police policy to discourage the use of motorcycles &
scooters, documented in the Parliamentary inquiry report (1992) and
The Age (15/7/2011), has failed miserably. That failure demonstrates
how out of touch with the motorcycle community our road authorities are.
I believe the policy to discourage powered two-wheelers is a significant
cause of rider casualties.
In the outer suburbs particularly motorcycles & scooters are an
efficient link to public transport but of the 200 plus park & ride
facilities only a few offer even minimal motorcycle parking facilities
like lighting, security anchors or lockers. You can fit five motorcycles
and up to ten scooters in a single car parking bay.
The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety will report
in December 2012. The website has both submissions and transcripts of
evidence.
L to R: Damien Codognotto OAM, Terry Mulder MP (Now Transport Minister)
and Michael Czajka MRA Road Safety & Research Officer talk motorcycles &
scooters.
Victorians are choosing to ride road motorcycles & scooters in
increasing numbers. It is a legitimate and sensible choice for many.
Bikes save time and money. Bikes reduce pollution, do less damage to
infrastructure and improve traffic flow.
Motorcycles & scooters more than pay their way through road taxes and
charges and in other ways. Tourism Victoria's Bicycle Strategy Plan
indicates that touring bicyclists contribute some $364 million to our
economy each year. The Independent Riders Group (IRG) informal surveys
indicate that touring motorcyclists contribute more than twice that
amount, particularly in regional Victoria.
Last weekend over 4000 riders attended the Ulysses Club AGM in
Mildura pumping millions of dollars into that city and to towns en route.
Tourism Victoria is working on a motorcycle & scooter strategy plan.
Email the Victorian Tourism Minister and ask when the motorcycle &
scooter plan will be released.
Motorcycling has a positive dollar value in our state. It is the most efficient
way to commute for a growing number of Victorians. It's safer than it's ever
been. And, motorcycle & scooter riding is fun.
Damien Codognotto OAM
Spokesman
Independent Riders' Group
Melbourne
Tel: 03 9846 8621
d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
40% OF BIKE CRASHES
A claims survey by a major Australian bike insurer, C2006, found
that in 40% if claims the motorcycle or scooter was hit from
behind by another vehicle. Looks like it could be a similar
situation worldwide.
Five counties hit with seven fatal motorcycle crashes in 2011
SUN, 01 APR 2012 18:59:22 CDT
a1 0402FatalMotorcycleCrashes,color.jpg
PEORIA
-
There were 162 crashes involving motorcycles last year in the Illinois State Police district that serves Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties.
Of those, 129 resulted in injuries to motorcycle operators and passengers.
Seven of those motorcyclists didn’t live to tell about it.
The nature of some of those fatal crashes has people still talking.
High on such a list is the accident Aug. 7 at North Sheridan Road and West Glen Avenue in which Korey Korenchuk and his wife, Rachel, were killed. The parents of two young daughters were stopped at a red light just before 2 a.m. when their motorcycle was rear-ended by a drunken driver.
“We were there about a week ago,” said Korey Korenchuk’s father, Mike, who, with his wife, Hilary, revisited the accident scene.
For many months after the crash, traffic signal poles at the intersection continued to be decorated with silk flowers and the like. Recently, permanent signs were erected at the intersection in their honor.
“I believe there is some solace in that,” Mike Korenchuk said.
State Police District 8 safety education officer Dustin Pierce said the district’s total of 25 crash fatalities in 2011 was the lowest among the 22 districts in the state. But the seven motorcycle-related deaths ...
“That is a high number,” Pierce said. “We definitely want to get that down.”
May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, but the unseasonably warm weather in March sped up the first opportunity to ride by several weeks.
Those “Start Seeing Motorcycle” signs produced by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety will be making their comeback sooner rather than later.
“I think it absolutely did help,” said Wayne Wiebler, owner of Walters Bros. Harley-Davidson, where he began working in 1951.
“The law enforcement agencies have (“Start Seeing Motorcycles” static window clings) on just about every car they’ve got,” Wiebler said. “None of that hurts. It just doesn’t hurt at all.”
Another of the fatal crashes in 2011 that left a lasting impression occurred on the afternoon of July 21 at North Third and Margaret streets in Pekin. Willie Wiker died after an 81-year-old woman drove her car through a red light and T-boned Wiker’s motorcycle.
“That’s the kind of stuff that happens — nobody did that on purpose,” Wiebler said. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Operating a motorcycle while impaired, however, doesn’t sit well with Wiebler. Though he doesn’t necessarily like the term, Wiebler concedes such a measure could transform a motorcycle into “I guess you could say, a murdercycle.”
“It doesn’t make much difference whether it’s a cellphone or too much alcohol or too many drugs of any kind,” Wiebler said. “You’re just not in the condition that you should be in to ride a motorcycle safely.”
Pierce recommends riders take the free safety training course offered by IDOT. The trooper teaches courses at Illinois Central College in East Peoria.
“Maybe that should be a requirement,” said Mike Korenchuk, who said he didn’t know if his son, 40, ever participated.
Much to Pierce’s chagrin, wearing a helmet isn’t the law in Illinois. But should someone choose to do so, Pierce said the helmet should be DOT-approved rather than the garden variety.
“It’s not really doing them any good (otherwise),” Pierce said.
He also urges motorcyclists to plan ahead in the event other motorists don’t see their oncoming motorcycles.
“The thing I always tell my students and when I’m talking to people is, always play ‘what if',” Pierce said. “You know, what if this car does this? What if this vehicle turns in front of me?
“Where’s my outlet, what can I do? So if an emergency does happen, they have a little bit of a plan and hopefully an extra second to steer around (the danger).”
Of those, 129 resulted in injuries to motorcycle operators and passengers.
Seven of those motorcyclists didn’t live to tell about it.
The nature of some of those fatal crashes has people still talking.
High on such a list is the accident Aug. 7 at North Sheridan Road and West Glen Avenue in which Korey Korenchuk and his wife, Rachel, were killed. The parents of two young daughters were stopped at a red light just before 2 a.m. when their motorcycle was rear-ended by a drunken driver.
“We were there about a week ago,” said Korey Korenchuk’s father, Mike, who, with his wife, Hilary, revisited the accident scene.
For many months after the crash, traffic signal poles at the intersection continued to be decorated with silk flowers and the like. Recently, permanent signs were erected at the intersection in their honor.
“I believe there is some solace in that,” Mike Korenchuk said.
State Police District 8 safety education officer Dustin Pierce said the district’s total of 25 crash fatalities in 2011 was the lowest among the 22 districts in the state. But the seven motorcycle-related deaths ...
“That is a high number,” Pierce said. “We definitely want to get that down.”
May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, but the unseasonably warm weather in March sped up the first opportunity to ride by several weeks.
Those “Start Seeing Motorcycle” signs produced by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety will be making their comeback sooner rather than later.
“I think it absolutely did help,” said Wayne Wiebler, owner of Walters Bros. Harley-Davidson, where he began working in 1951.
“The law enforcement agencies have (“Start Seeing Motorcycles” static window clings) on just about every car they’ve got,” Wiebler said. “None of that hurts. It just doesn’t hurt at all.”
Another of the fatal crashes in 2011 that left a lasting impression occurred on the afternoon of July 21 at North Third and Margaret streets in Pekin. Willie Wiker died after an 81-year-old woman drove her car through a red light and T-boned Wiker’s motorcycle.
“That’s the kind of stuff that happens — nobody did that on purpose,” Wiebler said. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Operating a motorcycle while impaired, however, doesn’t sit well with Wiebler. Though he doesn’t necessarily like the term, Wiebler concedes such a measure could transform a motorcycle into “I guess you could say, a murdercycle.”
“It doesn’t make much difference whether it’s a cellphone or too much alcohol or too many drugs of any kind,” Wiebler said. “You’re just not in the condition that you should be in to ride a motorcycle safely.”
Pierce recommends riders take the free safety training course offered by IDOT. The trooper teaches courses at Illinois Central College in East Peoria.
“Maybe that should be a requirement,” said Mike Korenchuk, who said he didn’t know if his son, 40, ever participated.
Much to Pierce’s chagrin, wearing a helmet isn’t the law in Illinois. But should someone choose to do so, Pierce said the helmet should be DOT-approved rather than the garden variety.
“It’s not really doing them any good (otherwise),” Pierce said.
He also urges motorcyclists to plan ahead in the event other motorists don’t see their oncoming motorcycles.
“The thing I always tell my students and when I’m talking to people is, always play ‘what if',” Pierce said. “You know, what if this car does this? What if this vehicle turns in front of me?
“Where’s my outlet, what can I do? So if an emergency does happen, they have a little bit of a plan and hopefully an extra second to steer around (the danger).”
Sunday, 1 April 2012
LETTER TO THE RACV ON REG COSTS
By all means mate! It would also behoove you/ them/ everyone to write to RACV using the letter in their previous issue as a reference. Now that they have opened the issue with this bloke's letter, they have set a precident and created a cornerstone for the argument to gather momentum!
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 12:14:42 +1000
From: d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com
To: lindsayswift@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: FW: LETTER
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 12:14:42 +1000
From: d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com
To: lindsayswift@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: FW: LETTER
G'day Lindsay,
Good letter.
Can I put it on my blog?
Can I forward it to people working on rego reform?
Damien
Friday, March 30, 2012, 10:45:29 AM, you wrote:
LINDSAY SWIFT
NSW 2790
02 6351 4277
LETTER
The latest RACV members' magazine sports a letter from a motorcyclist and RACV member that merits some consideration.
This bloke writes that it is unfair that he must pay compulsory insurance for every vehicle he owns. I could not agree more and have been banging my head against this brick wall for decades. He implores the RACV to take up this fight. I'll go one better.
Why doesn't any motorcyclist's rights group fight for a fair registration/ insurance system where the vehicle operator is insured and each vehicle is registered?
Then of course there's our exhalted industry. That it behooves motorcycle shops and accessory distributors to support anything that gives their consumers back hundreds or thousands of dollars per year, hithereto taken by the government is a no-brainer. It is also not a problem peculiar to any state - motorcycle and car owners throughout Australia are being shafted by the current, unfair system. If every state were to 'kick up a stink' about this simaltaneously it would create weeks of news and embarrassment for governments which would have to explain why the current system exists.
As it concerns car drivers we can get RACV, NRMA, RACQ et al on side. This way the 'stink' will be kicked up professionally by experienced mobs representing millions of Australians and not merely another whinge from the noisy, smelly minority that motorcyclists are percieved as.
Our oligarchy does not give a rat's arse about our rights. We are not goverened by democracy and nothing will change unless we play it smart and work with these motoring groups and take this on nationally. This is our chance to have a win, but given the recent history of our lobby groups and our industry, their apathy, their crawiling to the government and their penchant for flinging shit at oneanother electronically rather than 'representing us' as their rhetoric claims, I am not holding my breath.
Regards,
Lindsay Swift
TEMPORARY AUSTRALIANS THIS WEEK
PERTH - Episode 4
On Temporary Australians:
1. Angry Anderson tells us why ‘Cars are the Enemy’.
2. We check out Harley Heaven’s new motorcycle museum in Melbourne.
3. Jonesy tries to interview charity riders Tex and Bundy with mixed success.
4. We look at Victory Motorcycles new store in Melbourne’s famous Elizabeth Street.
6. Grant Howard from Brotherhood CMC faces a future of riding with the reality of cancer.
7. We find out about riding around Townsville in Northern Queensland.
BRISBANE, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE and GEELONG, ADELAIDE - Episode 5
On Temporary Australians:
On Temporary Australians:
1. Angry Anderson tells us why ‘Cars are the Enemy’.
2. We check out Harley Heaven’s new motorcycle museum in Melbourne.
3. Jonesy tries to interview charity riders Tex and Bundy with mixed success.
4. We look at Victory Motorcycles new store in Melbourne’s famous Elizabeth Street.
5. Chairman of the Australian Motorcycle Council, Shaun Lennard, explains why we need a national voice.
6. Grant Howard from Brotherhood CMC faces a future of riding with the reality of cancer.
7. We find out about riding around Townsville in Northern Queensland.
8. And Hirsty gets a dose of motorcycle therapy close to the Melbourne CBD with Damien Codognotto from the Independent Riders Group.
BRISBANE, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE and GEELONG, ADELAIDE - Episode 5
On Temporary Australians:
1. We join the famous MRA OZ GP Run in Cranbourne and find out what Olympian Kieran Perkins is doing there.
2. Cory Ness son of Arlen reveals what he was doing in Australia last year.
3. Federal MP Bernie Ripoll comes out of the closet and confesses to a long held motorcycle passion.
4. Jonesy talks to Rich from Bikers Australia about club life.
5. We find out some of the best rides in the Newcastle area.
6. We find out Hirsty reckons the boys from the Southern Cross Cruiser Club are good blokes.
7. Smithy from God Squad tells us why we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
8. We say Goodbye to the Road Warriors Cafe.
9.Hirsty has a rant about slow speed signs on the Old Pacific Highway.
10. And we find out what happens when 5,000 plus riders rode together to Phillip Island last year.
DON'T FORGET A NEW REPEAT ON TVS AND ONLINE SUNDAY'S 3PM (SYDNEY TIME) - CHECK OUT THE TV GUIDE IN:
www.temporaryaustralians.com.au
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