I predict a blitz by the coppers in the near future in NSW

[mike-s]

I just read this article which blames a rise in motorcycle use (among other factors like the improving economy) on the increase in deaths on the road.
From the sounds of it there's going to be a bit of a road blitz on the fun roads in the near future.

[robracer]

Fuck Them, of corse there is going to be a rise in deaths if there is a rise in sales talk about kneejerk

[6maniac]

As usual, some rubbery figures trotted out to justify being seen to be " doing something ".

[smithy5]

On those stat's, they should ban bicycles from all roads, there deaths have more than doubled from 6 to 14....... like that's going to happen ay.........

No they will just twist the figures to suit where they can raise the most revenue and hide behind the bullshit spin they call safety......

[aardvark]

Fuck Them, of corse there is going to be a rise in deaths if there is a rise in sales talk about kneejerk

But should there be? Really? Do you think your family are going to just wipe you off with a "There's more bikes on the road, was bound to happen sooner or later" if you get yourself greased mate?

[Gosling1]

No-one likes seeing any biker get greased - but the logic is hard to disagree with. Put 10,000 more bikers on the road - is there likely to be a *decrease* in the death rate ?? I don't think so. The chances of more bikers dying from accidents simply rises proportionally with the increased numbers of bikers on the road.

[robracer]

Jase you can wrap us in cotton wool & make us do 50kmh in built up areas there will always be deaths no matter what.
I know the risk & so do my family, so I live with it.

[gpxpunk]

as usual, they think they can save lives by fine people.

[aardvark]

Rob, there was never any mention of wrapping people in cotton wool or reducing speed limits. I was simply trying to point out that just because there are more motorcycle sales, it doesn't mean there has to be an increase in the number of people killed.

There are more vehicles on the road now than there were in 1970 and the total number of fatalities on the road has decreased.

Fatalities on our roads shouldn't happen and they certainly don't need to happen because there are more vehicles, in this case bikes, on the road. It's a combined effort - better training, better roads, drivers and riders behaving in a sensible manner, better safety equipment, better vehicles and yes, even tougher enforcement of road rules.

I hear people moan on about the quality of training for drivers and riders, but at the end of the day, who's going to pay for it? The government? Not likely, and nor should they. Obtaining a licence isn't a right. You want one, you should pay for it. I agree that getting a licence should be harder but I have a sneaking suspicion that a hell of a lot of people here wouldn't have one if they had to resit under tougher testing conditions. So if you were to fail a newer, tougher test, would you want to pay for more training?

The roads need to be fixed in a lot of places. But shit, so do the schools, the hospitals, the public transport systems etc etc. The government doesn't have a bottomless bucket of money. They waste plenty, and that burns my arse, but how do we fix it?

So until everything else is fixed, we need to take responsibility for ourselves.

[ty]

You're a typical fortune teller Mike - predicting something generic with lots of possible causes, you can't fail to be wrong
You may be right, but there's also Christmas hols about to start - so blitz's of many sorts are inevitable

I hear what you're saying Jase, but I also agree with Rob. Many motorcyclists (just like car drivers, yes) are tools, or at least overconfident, and don't take responsibility for themselves or their training. Perhaps it's these guys that form a large portion of the death rate (I've got no real idea - so it's 'perhaps') - put more of them on the road and of course it's going to go up. Or if you consider perhaps that it's largely drivers at fault, putting more motorcyclist out there means they're going to hit more of them.

I don't mean to imply that motorcyclists who are killed are tools - I'd be the last person to do any such thing (having almost been there twice).
But having seen how some people ride on the weekends I'm really not surprised by the situation.
ty

[mike-s]

Ty, you're welcome!! I just figured from the story that it was the kind of beatup that would be there shortly before pollies calling for some form of action to stop it. Cynical, yes, but only because there are idiots on the road and idiots running the place.

[bonester]

Dr Job said motorcyclists and cyclists were especially at risk riding on sharp curves on country roads or at busy city intersections. He has raised the possibility of new laws requiring the riders of mopeds and motor scooters to wear protective clothing in addition to helmets.

I wonder when they are going to separate motorcyclists and scooter riders in statistics. In Queensland at least you can ride a 50cc scooter on a car licence....

[bluezx14]

Reasonable enforcement is part of the solution, that is not what we get however.

[bishboy]

A bit off topic but I it was announced this morning that the new tunnel Brisbane from Woolloongabba to Bowen Hill will have 4 (yes thats 4) fixed speed cameras each way (that 8 in total) and the tunnel is less than 7 km long

It's supposed to prevent accidents and therefore blockage of the tunnel. I predict it will be a huge revenue raiser especially at 3am when its empty and all the fast and furious boys want to wind their windows down (and number plates removed ) and listen to the echo as they rev out there Sylvias etc with their cannon exhausts on

[mike-s]

$, i mean 4 cameras? is that not a bit of overkill.