TAC AD DISGRACE 1 - APRIL 27 2012

Once again TAC shows the contempt the transport departments and
governments have towards riders.

This motorcycle TV ad is blaming the victim not the perpetrator
of the incident.

This is all based on speculation of what if the rider did this or did that,
well what if the driver moved from the stop sign a little later and the
rider was doing the posted speed limit, the scenario would have been
the same outcome.

If the driver would have obeyed the road rules of making sure there was
nothing coming, before moving off from the STOP sign it would have been
a different outcome.

These type of ad campaigns only go to insure more discrimination against
motorcyclists and empowers the drivers negative attitude towards riders.

We motorcyclists ride every time we are on the road as if every one is out
to kill us and for me that is what this commercial goes to prove. It shows that
drivers don't care about the vulnerable road user nor do the transport
departments or governments.

Until there is a change in the mind set (ATTITUDE) of all road users these
type of crashes will continue to happen. You only have to read some of the
comments that are attached to the news article to see the attitude of the
road user of today.

Steve Clancy
MRAQ VP

aka Prickle

TAC SHOCK BIKE AD A DISGRACE

The VicRoads/TAC/Police policy to discourage motorcycling, identified by the Parliamentary Road Safety Committee inquiry into motorcycle & scooter safety in the early 1990s, obviously survives in 2012.

This kind of vilification does nothing for road safety.

At a time when Victoria won't spend more on ambos, police, nurses and teachers the government needs to take a long hard look at this massive waste of our money.

I doubt the Motorcycle Advisory Group (MAG), or VMAC, at VicRoads was consulted on this ad. Even if they were, I doubt their input was taken seriously. Motorcycle & scooter advisory groups are treated as window dressing by Australian road authorities.

I'd appreciate road riders comments on this ad. I'll pass them on to the Premier, anonymously if you wish.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/new-tac-ad-shows-motorcyclist-breaking-neck/comments-fn7x8me2-1226338811446

Damien Codognotto OAM

Spokesman

Independent Riders' Group

Melbourne

d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com 

HERALD SUN LETTER - APRIL 24 2012

The Herald Sun
Letters


Melbourne  is  too  congested  say  84%  of  respondents  to  Voteline
(24/4/2012). It's obvious there are too many cars on our roads and too
few parking spaces. Quality of life is declining in our choking city.


Single-occupant cars make up 70% of traffic. In the short term, reduce
the  number  of  single-occupant  cars  by promoting alternatives like
two-wheelers  and  public transport. Lower road costs for motorbikes &
scooters  and  increase capacity at more than 200 existing park& ride
facilities.


In  the  mid  term put our money into rail rather than new roads. More
roads  means  more  cars,  more  tolls  and  more of our dollars going
overseas.


The problem and solutions are obvious but too many vested interests in
business  and our road authorities prevent positive moves for all road
users.  It takes a strong transport minister to face up to the obvious
and  do  something, but we haven't seen any strong transport ministers
in many years.


Damien Codognotto
Independent Riders' Group
Melbourne

ON THE TELLY

PERTH - Episode 7

On Temporary Australians:

1.  We find out what makes the Moto GP at Phillip Island such a ripper race.

2. Damien Codognotto talks sense about footpath parking and why every state should have it.

3. We check out Robbo’s Harley Davidson in Canberra and find out how they keep an eye on staff.

4. We find out why riding a Harley can be a drag.

5. Ten Sports commentator Daryl Beattie talks about his racing and road riding experiences.

6. We find out how the Bling Brothers got their name.

7. Joe from HOG in Western Australia talks about the best rides in his state.

8. We find out from a WA politician why the motorcycle experience is fantastic.

9. We join riders in Cowes for what has to be one of the best biker parties that we have ever seen.

BRISBANE, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE and GEELONG, ADELAIDE - Episode 8

On Temporary Australians:

1.  Angry Anderson talks about his new role at Fraser Motorcycles.

2. Jonesy checks out some old bikes and finds out how to have fun on one.

3. Smithy from God Squad CMC offers some more relevant God stuff.

4. We find out why the Mayor of Bathurst rode in the rain.

5. Pugsley, editor of  Live to Ride magazine, shares some insights from his motorcycling experience.

6. With the help of Two Wheels editor Jeremy Bowdler, we checkout the newest motorcycling invention: a motorbike powered by compressed air.

7. Ten Sports Daryl Beattie talks about his favourite rides in Queensland.

8. Rob Smith from Motorcycling Australia talks about personal responsibility.

9. We find out why a motorcycle stunt team calls itself the ‘Team from Hell’.

TEMPORARY AUSTRALIANS IS NOW ON TVS ON TUESDAY  AT 9PM

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

NORTHERN IRELAND MOTORCYCLE STUDY - 2012

RIGHT TO RIDE has today published the "Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012", an in depth study of 39 cases relating to motorcycle fatalities in Northern Ireland (UK) between 2004 and 2010.

The study, supported by the British Motorcyclists Federation Foundation, was carried out by Dr Elaine Hardy of Right To Ride with the collaboration of Dr Emerson Callender and Damian Coll of the Road Traffic Collision Investigation Team, Forensic Science Northern Ireland and Dr Richard Frampton of the Transport Safety Research Centre, Loughborough University, England (UK).  

The "Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012" contains an analysis of 39 collisions investigated and includes information relating to vehicle data, the collision scene and the environment as well as human factors.

Overall, 41 motorcyclists were fatality injured, equal to 36% of total motorcycle fatalities during 2004 and 2010 in Northern Ireland.

Evidence

The evidence provided in this report indicates that each road traffic collision is unique but that in all cases the time frame from the perceived hazard to the conclusion of the impact either with another vehicle or with road infrastructure was typically between 2 and 3 seconds.

In 63.4% of cases, (n.26/n.41) motorcyclists applied their brakes prior to the collision and n.18 (43.9%) applied their brakes severely. Of the n.17 (41.4%) motorcycles that slid after falling, n.10 (24.4%) fell onto their right side and the remaining n.7 (17.1%) fell onto their left side. There were two cases identified where Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) may have made a difference to the outcome of the collision, both were on a straight section of road.

Analysis

Of the 39 cases analysed, there were 17 cases (43.6%) in which another vehicle was considered the primary cause of the collision. In thirteen of these cases (76.5%), the evidence highlighted that the motorcycle’s lights were switched on and therefore the other vehicle driver was in a position to see them. However, there appears to be a problem of looking but not seeing which may be due to the size of the motorcycle or simply because the car/van driver is expecting to see another car or van and has difficulty coping with the unexpected. (DC - My bold italics.)

There were four cases (10.3%) of speeding, but in all cases, the actions of the other vehicle driver  precipitated the collision. Equally there were four known cases (10.3%) in which the rider had levels of alcohol over the legal limit and or drugs in their blood. Three of these collisions were single vehicle (no other vehicle involved) and the fourth ran a red light through an intersection with no headlights on and impacted a car crossing the intersection.

There were 9 cases (23%) in which the motorcyclists involved in a collision were either riding in a group or with another motorcyclist. In all these cases the total number of motorcyclists killed was n.11/n.41 (26.8%).

Focus Group

A focus group of trainers, a collision investigator, police and government agency representatives discussed the relevance of technology on vehicles as a deterrent to collisions as well as the advantages of teaching hazard perception and anticipation in initial and advanced training as a defence against potential collisions. The consensus was that while technology may in some cases be beneficial, good training was more important. However, the availability, image and cost of advanced training seemed to be a barrier to getting more riders involved. 

According to the participants of the focus group, the best solution to avoid road traffic collisions is anticipation and hazard awareness. The consensus was that the only reliable way to prevent motorcyclist injuries and deaths is to prevent the collision in the first place, which means the rider needs to get his/her eyes up and scanning ahead, taking evasive action when a potential collision is still several seconds from happening.

"Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012" – pdf 1.1mb – Click Here

http://www.righttoride.eu/virtuallibrary/ridersafety/Northern_Ireland_Motorcycle_Fatality_Report_2012.pdf

http://www.rightoride.co.uk/virtuallibrary/ridersafety/Northern_Ireland_Motorcycle_Fatality_Report_2012.pdf

Dr Elaine Hardy
Director of Research
Right To Ride Ltd

research@righttoride.co.uk

www.righttoride.eu

www.righttoride.co.uk

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Australian Motorcycle Council (AMC)

AMCdelegates mailing list

AMCdelegates@amc.asn.au
_______________________________________________________________________________

It appears this report excludes the possibility of using virtual reality to train riders. Putting riders in a virtual world is a simple and cheap method of training riders (and drivers) by putting them in situations that occur infrequently when riding on the roads... but which create a high accident risk.

This was the basis of my submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Road Safety Committee inquiry into motorcycle & scooter safety in 2011.

Michael Czajka

Melbourne

www.parliament.vic.gov.au/rsc

________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, 15 April 2012 

Indepth Study of Motorcycle Fatalities in Northern Ireland 2012

When assessing this study from Northern Ireland the differences in climate/weather, road environment/conditions and traffic types/volumes/flow between Victoria and Northern Ireland show should be taken in to account. Too often this is ignored by government researchers seeking outcomes that seem logical to them as car drivers.

Northern Ireland covers 13,843 square kilometres. Victoria covers 237,629 square kilometres. Northern Ireland is on an island at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Belfast is around 55 degrees north of the equator. Victoria is on the edge of a vast, dry, hot continent with roads that go forever. Victoria's capital city, Melbourne, is 38 degrees south of the equator. There are nearly 4 million Melbournians.

The population of Northern Ireland in 2010 was 1.799 million. The population of Victoria was 5,547,500. Victoria has the highest population density of any Australian state. Australians own 16.4 million road vehicles including road registered motorcycles & scooters. Victorians own 4.2 million road vehicles.

A good argument for encouraging traffic filtering for powered two-wheelers as road authorities do for pushbikes.

The same old lights-on propaganda is in this report. I would have thought new motorcycles sold in the UK would be hard-wired. Driver awareness and road authorities' lack of will to address that problem, seems to be a problem in Northern Ireland too.

Also, it would be good to know how the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) Foundation is made up and funded. I'm under the impression the BMF has a similar role in the UK to Motorcycling Australia here and the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) in the USA.

Likewise "Right to Ride".

Does the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) still operate in the UK?

The make up of the "focus group" does not inspire confidence and the emphasis participants place on rider, rather than driver, training seems to indicate a blame-the-victim mind set. This even though the problem of drivers looking but not seeing riders was identified in the study. It seems obvious that an increase in riders' skill levels will help casualty crash avoidance. It also obvious that a small increase in car driver skill levels and alertness would help casualty crash avoidance much more. Fewer in car distractions would be a good place to start. 

Safer car drivers will benefit more than just motorcycle & scooter riders. Safer drivers mean fewer road casualties overall. That benefits for bicyclists, pedestrians and car occupants too. But car driver training and car driver awareness/alertness does not seem to have been on the focus group's agenda.

How was crash scene data was collected? It has been clear at the Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety that crash scene data and analysis in Victoria is not adequate, especially in regional/rural areas. In this state, crash data collection at serious injury motorcycle or scooter crash sites does not get the same level of attention as fatals or multiple-fatals.

A constable with no specific training attending a crash site,  maybe hours after the incident and filling in a standard form, is hardly likely to supply reliable data to researchers who have little understanding of the way motorcycles & scooters operate in traffic. VicRoads/TAC/Police here are reluctant to admit this weakness in our system, let alone address it.

This Northern Ireland study sounds to me, at this stage, like something Vicroads would do. Its' credibility should be carefully tested. That is not to say there is no value in it. That is to say we would be irresponsible to take at face value a paper from the other side of the globe without looking at how it was put together and under what conditions. 

Not all road safety data translates well from country to country or even region to region. Bike law in Darwin may have a different effect on road users in Mildura because of the climate. Bike law in Sydney may have a different effect in Alice Springs because of traffic flow and the mix of vehicles. Bike law in Northern Ireland may have a different effect on riders in Victoria because of usage and distances travelled.

Damien Codognotto (L) with the Honourable David Hawker, Chairman of the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Group (MAG).

Damien Codognotto OAM

Independent Riders' Group

Melbourne

Victoria  Australia

MORE BIKES ON TV

PERTH - Episode 6

On Temporary Australians we check out:

1.  Last year’s Sydney Motorcycle Show after a surprise move to Darling Harbour and see why huge crowds turned up.

2. Jonesy catches up with our very own Californian Highway Patrol Officer.

3. Canberra HOG take us for a ride around the nation’s capital.

4. We take time to remember our fallen mates and find out why Animal was less than impressed with the ride.

5. Johann from Oztrikes talks about wheelchairs and riding to the Alice.

6. We find out why Rob Smith from Motorcycling Australia wants lane filtering legalised.

7. We find out why Angry Anderson is the real deal and

8. Jonesy has a close brush withthe law.

BRISBANE, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE and GEELONG, ADELAIDE - Episode 7

On Temporary Australians:

1. We find out what makes the Moto GP at Phillip Island such a ripper race.

2. Damien Codognotto talks sense about footpath parking and why every state should have it.

3. We check out Robbo’s Harley Davidson in Canberra and find out how they keep an eye on staff.

4. We find out why riding a Harley can be a drag.

5. Ten Sports commentator Daryl Beattie talks about his racing and road riding experiences.

6. We find out how the Bling Brothers got their name.

7. Joe from HOG in Western Australia talks about the best rides in his state and we find out from a WA politician why the motorcycle experience is fantastic.

8. We join riders in Cowes for what has to be one of the best biker parties that we have ever seen.

FROM THIS WEEK TEMPORARY AUSTRALIANS ON TVS WILL MOVE FROM MONDAY TO TUESDAY APRIL 17 AT 9PM

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 

            

BIKES ON TV

PERTH - 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 and

10. We find out what happens when 5,000 plus riders rode together to Phillip Island last year.

BRISBANE, SYDNEY, MELBOURNE and GEELONG, ADELAIDE - Episode 6

On Temporary Australians:

1. We check out last year’s Sydney Motorcycle Show after a surprise move to Darling Harbour and see why huge crowds turned up.

2. Jonesy catches up with our very own Californian Highway Patrol Officer.

3. Canberra HOG take us for a ride around the nation’s capital.

4. We take time to remember our fallen mates and find out why Animal was less than impressed with the ride.

5. Johann from Oztrikes talks about wheelchairs and riding to the Alice.

6. We find out why Rob Smith from Motorcycling Australia wants lane filtering legalised.

7. We find out why Angry Anderson is the real deal and

8. Jonesy has a close brush with the law.


FROM NEXT WEEK TEMPORARY AUSTRALIANS ON TVS WILL MOVE FROM MONDAY TO TUESDAY APRIL 17 AT 9PM

Don't forget a new repeat on TVS and ONLINE Sundays at 3 pm Sydney time.

Check the guide in:

www.temporaryaustralians.com.au