MEGAN LEVY The Age June 23, 2010 - 10:08AM
A motorcyclist caught on a speed camera riding at 118km/h in a suburban area.
..Hooning motorcyclists are having a devastating impact on Victoria's road toll which is heading for its worst result in five years, the state's top traffic policeman says.
The latest figures reveal that one fifth of the 160 deaths on the state's roads this year involve motorcyclists, the latest occurring on Friday morning when a rider hit a parked truck in Melbourne's west.
Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay today blasted the behaviour of irresponsible riders, while releasing traffic photographs showing motorcyclists speeding and failing to wear protective clothing.
One rider is photographed giving the finger to a speed camera, while another wearing shorts and a t-shirt is snapped doing a mono while travelling at 111 km/h on the Old Calder Highway in Keilor.
Mr Lay said some riders showed blatant disregard for the law by covering up their rear number plate, while others simply knew that some Victorian speed cameras only photographed the front of a motorcycle, which does not carry a number plate. ''Many motorcyclists know that we can't capture their image so they travel and move at a speed that's clearly inappropriate and highly dangerous,'' Mr Lay told Radio 3AW.
''There's a group of the motorcycle riding fraternity that clearly know that and give us the bird from time to time, as you've seen.''
Mr Lay said 32 motorcyclists had been killed so far this year, compared to 17 at the same time last year. The difference of 15 could be the reason why this year's road toll had soared to 160 this year, compared to 144 for the same time last year. Of this year's motorcycle fatalities, about 35 per cent have involved excessive or inappropriate speed, Mr Lay said.
"We cannot pretend that this has nothing to do with the level of trauma we are seeing on the roads," he said.
"I know that the majority of motorcyclists out there do the right thing and stick to the limits, wear protective clothing and avoid lane cutting.
"But everyday I am passed by hooning motorcyclists who put themselves in grave danger and I am simply fed up with it."
He said independent research showed motorcyclists were 38 times more likely than motorists to be seriously injured or killed in a crash, while about 75 per cent of motorcyclists involved in a fatality were at fault.
"We need to understand what the climate on the roads is like, and from these images it is clear that there are significant problems with some motorcyclists in Victoria," Mr Lay said
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
this is not good coz we might get a kneejerk reaction from the guvmint...and thats the last thing we need at present
