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Junior teen motorbike permit 'will cut road toll'
Jason Dowling
March 16, 2008
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLDS should be eligible for junior motorcycle licences that would give them four years to practise on private land and in state parks before they hit the road, the State Government has been advised.
The call follows an alarming surge in motorcycle fatalities: 15 motorcyclists have been killed on the state's roads in the past 10 weeks — twice as many as at the same time last year.
And with motorcycle registrations increasing at almost four times the rate of car registrations, authorities fear that the surge in fatalities will increase.
By comparison, no cyclists have been killed this year, despite an increase of workers cycling to the city each day.
The Transport Accident Commission says motorcyclists are 34 times more likely to suffer a serious injury than car occupants. However, soaring petrol costs, increased traffic congestion and the growing popularity of scooters have fuelled the popularity of motorcycles.
And, according to the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia, the trend will continue.
"To wait up to an hour to get to work is just nonsense, when you can jump on a scooter and be there in 25 minutes," association president Dale Maggs said.
He said the best way to save young riders would be to give them as much practice as possible before they faced traffic.
During a meeting with Roads Minister Tim Pallas last week, Mr Maggs called for a new junior licence that would allow 14-year-olds to ride motorcycles on private land and in state parks while accompanied by a fully licensed rider on a separate bike.
In 2001, the age for obtaining a motorcycle learner's permit increased from 17 years and nine months to 18 years.
Mr Maggs said early experience could help save lives by giving teenagers "a stepping stone on to a motorcycle in a familiar place with their parent".
TAC general manager road safety David Healy warned that the growth in motorcycle and cycling put pressure on the aim of reducing Victoria's road toll by 30% by 2017.
Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the current licensing system for motorcyclists had to be improved before there was any discussion of teenage motorcycle licences.
He told State Parliament in December that he had obtained a motorcycle rider's learner permit last year with just six hours' experience. "I passed a riding test and was ready to be sent out on the road to mix it with the traffic. Was I ready? No," he said. "Compare this to the provisions for learner drivers in relation to compulsory behind-the-wheel experience and you get an indication that there is a glaring anomaly with this system."
Mr Pallas was not enthused by the junior licence idea.
Danger on roads
■ Growth in motorcycle registrations almost four times higher than cars.
■ Motorcyclists account for less than 1% of vehicle kms travelled but account for about 13% of road toll over past five years.
■ Rate of serious injury per km travelled is 34 times higher for motorcyclists than for car occupants.
■ This year 15 motorcyclists have been killed on Victoria's roads compared to eight at the same time last year.
■ Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia call for 14-year-old restricted motorcycle licences.
Source: Transport Accident Commission
THE MOTORCYCLIST
Mark Ewart's life changed in an instant one June morning on Ballarat Road. As he rode his motorcycle to his job as a forklift driver, a car changed lanes in front of him and stopped suddenly to make a right-hand turn. With no time to react, Mr Ewart, now 37, slammed into the rear of the car. He broke six ribs and his pelvis in two places. He spent six weeks recovering in hospital and another 12 months as an outpatient as he learnt to walk again. A year after the crash he wanted to return to his old workplace on light duties, but they couldn't accommodate him. He found another job but four months in, when the TAC wage subsidy ran out, his new employer let him go. He continues to look for work but his injuries make it difficult.
"No one wants to employ someone who's been injured," he says.
THE CYCLIST
Marcel Lema set off on a cool May morning for a ride with friends along Beach Road but wound up in hospital.
As he waited on North Road for a red light to turn green, a car on the opposite side of the intersection sped past the signal. Another vehicle slammed into the side of the car, causing it to hit Mr Lema, 39, head-on at about 60 kilometres an hour.
He spent six days in hospital receiving treatment for a broken leg and hip, six broken ribs and a punctured lung, and had to take five months off work. He expects to need a hip replacement within five years.
He rides less than he used to, partly because of his hip, partly because he says an "epidemic of road rage" has made the roads less safe for cyclists.
He says the answer is more driver education and more on-road cycle paths.
Junior teen motorbike permit 'will cut road toll' - National - theage.com.au
Junior teen motorbike permit 'will cut road toll'
Jason Dowling
March 16, 2008
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLDS should be eligible for junior motorcycle licences that would give them four years to practise on private land and in state parks before they hit the road, the State Government has been advised.
The call follows an alarming surge in motorcycle fatalities: 15 motorcyclists have been killed on the state's roads in the past 10 weeks — twice as many as at the same time last year.
And with motorcycle registrations increasing at almost four times the rate of car registrations, authorities fear that the surge in fatalities will increase.
By comparison, no cyclists have been killed this year, despite an increase of workers cycling to the city each day.
The Transport Accident Commission says motorcyclists are 34 times more likely to suffer a serious injury than car occupants. However, soaring petrol costs, increased traffic congestion and the growing popularity of scooters have fuelled the popularity of motorcycles.
And, according to the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia, the trend will continue.
"To wait up to an hour to get to work is just nonsense, when you can jump on a scooter and be there in 25 minutes," association president Dale Maggs said.
He said the best way to save young riders would be to give them as much practice as possible before they faced traffic.
During a meeting with Roads Minister Tim Pallas last week, Mr Maggs called for a new junior licence that would allow 14-year-olds to ride motorcycles on private land and in state parks while accompanied by a fully licensed rider on a separate bike.
In 2001, the age for obtaining a motorcycle learner's permit increased from 17 years and nine months to 18 years.
Mr Maggs said early experience could help save lives by giving teenagers "a stepping stone on to a motorcycle in a familiar place with their parent".
TAC general manager road safety David Healy warned that the growth in motorcycle and cycling put pressure on the aim of reducing Victoria's road toll by 30% by 2017.
Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the current licensing system for motorcyclists had to be improved before there was any discussion of teenage motorcycle licences.
He told State Parliament in December that he had obtained a motorcycle rider's learner permit last year with just six hours' experience. "I passed a riding test and was ready to be sent out on the road to mix it with the traffic. Was I ready? No," he said. "Compare this to the provisions for learner drivers in relation to compulsory behind-the-wheel experience and you get an indication that there is a glaring anomaly with this system."
Mr Pallas was not enthused by the junior licence idea.
Danger on roads
■ Growth in motorcycle registrations almost four times higher than cars.
■ Motorcyclists account for less than 1% of vehicle kms travelled but account for about 13% of road toll over past five years.
■ Rate of serious injury per km travelled is 34 times higher for motorcyclists than for car occupants.
■ This year 15 motorcyclists have been killed on Victoria's roads compared to eight at the same time last year.
■ Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia call for 14-year-old restricted motorcycle licences.
Source: Transport Accident Commission
THE MOTORCYCLIST
Mark Ewart's life changed in an instant one June morning on Ballarat Road. As he rode his motorcycle to his job as a forklift driver, a car changed lanes in front of him and stopped suddenly to make a right-hand turn. With no time to react, Mr Ewart, now 37, slammed into the rear of the car. He broke six ribs and his pelvis in two places. He spent six weeks recovering in hospital and another 12 months as an outpatient as he learnt to walk again. A year after the crash he wanted to return to his old workplace on light duties, but they couldn't accommodate him. He found another job but four months in, when the TAC wage subsidy ran out, his new employer let him go. He continues to look for work but his injuries make it difficult.
"No one wants to employ someone who's been injured," he says.
THE CYCLIST
Marcel Lema set off on a cool May morning for a ride with friends along Beach Road but wound up in hospital.
As he waited on North Road for a red light to turn green, a car on the opposite side of the intersection sped past the signal. Another vehicle slammed into the side of the car, causing it to hit Mr Lema, 39, head-on at about 60 kilometres an hour.
He spent six days in hospital receiving treatment for a broken leg and hip, six broken ribs and a punctured lung, and had to take five months off work. He expects to need a hip replacement within five years.
He rides less than he used to, partly because of his hip, partly because he says an "epidemic of road rage" has made the roads less safe for cyclists.
He says the answer is more driver education and more on-road cycle paths.
Junior teen motorbike permit 'will cut road toll' - National - theage.com.au
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