Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Bikes got a mention in an article about the road toll. At least they are not just getting stuck into us.

There was also a slight increase in the number of motorcyclists killed on the road in 2008, with the 247 fatalities a 4.2 per cent jump on 2007.

“That reflects, in part, an increase in motorcycles on our road,” Mr Albanese said.

“But we need to particularly get the message across to infrequent motorcycle users, perhaps those who just take the bike out on the weekend, that they have to be cautious and careful about the way that they drive.”

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 61,00.html

Wow! a lot of emotion here.
Even Dickheads vote, so the roads will never be completey safe!
Three of my mates are dead and one brain damaged and one of my brothers mates is also dead.
The causes - Old fella hung a u turn in front of George on the Highway, Richard and Dan Killed simultaniously in outback Qld from unposted 90 degree L/Hander, Paul Brain damaged after 70 yr old pulled out from stopsign and My Bro's mate, Dalibor, also killed on way back from Ballarat by a F####ing unposted 90 Degree turn in the Dark!!!!!!!!! None of which was Rider error.
The cheeky pricks charge us a safety levy and we came accross 3klm's of UNSIGNPOSTED Fucking gravel going the back way from Skenes creek a couple of weeks ago. Give me the roads minister or whoever and I'll stick that 50 bucks so far up his arse he"ll be coughing up change

As for Finland, they only have a population of 5.3million as of the end of 2007. IN 2007 380 people were killed on their roads.
In comparison, we have a population of 21million and in 2007 we had 1,616 fatalities.

Do the sums, they aren't that different.

If Finland had the same population as us, using these figures, they'd have 1504 fatalities.

so u dont think 100 fewer fatalities is worth the effort of their training system???
given how much the road toll gets banged on about, i'd have thought you'd be all for reducing the road toll...

and as some people have so kindly stated, there are lots of crashes and accidents on the road which dont result in fatalities... so if finland had fewer deaths you'd assume that they would also have fewer injuries... which means less strain on medical and support systems within the community...

you cant really have it both ways in want for lower deaths via speed enforcment but then refute a training system which also results in fewer deaths

and you make a point about german roads... melbourne to brisbane is crying out to be dual carriage all the way, but the government would rather just focus on speed... perhaps they could put that money that they collect towards building a dual carriage way ALL THE WAY (chip in what ever else is needed), then train our drivers, then raise the speed limit to something sensible like 130 and effectively have our own version of an auto barn...

just a thought

Six Addict wrote: ... then raise the speed limit to something sensible ...

Jesus boy! Are you tryin' ter bring the feds down on us? That there's a treasonable offence.

Six Addict wrote:so u dont think 100 fewer fatalities is worth the effort of their training system???

Hmmmm, exactly where did it say that in my post???

However, it's an interesting point you've brought up. How do you attribute that reduction in deaths to their training?

Let's look at a few facts:
Finland, total area: 304,473 square kilometers.
Australia. total area: 7,617,930 square kilometers.

Total length of public roads in Finland: 79,132 kilometers.
Total length of public roads in Australia: 810,624 kilometers.

A massive percentage of the roads in Finland are multiple carriageway, divided highways.

Length of public road per capita in Finland: 39.16 metres.
Length of public road per capita in Australia: 15.06 metres.

At the end of 2002 (the most recent figured I could find) Finland had 3.75 million registered vehicles.
In Australia, that figure is closer to 14.8million.

I'm not going to analyse these figures for you. I'm sure you can work out how they might impact upon the road toll for both countries on your own. At any rate, putting the decrease in road fatalities down merely to training is shortsighted. Training probably does have some impact, but I doubt it's the sole reason for reducing the road toll by the approximate 100 fatalities that you mention.

Let me say this again, since you obviously haven't read any of my posts....
I am completely FOR extra training and retesting. Read back through my posts. You'll see I've said this on a number of occassions. And I haven't even gone back and edited my posts to add this after you've mentioned it.

Hell, I'm even for increasing the speed limit on our highways. After we start giving people extra training, retest every five years, put armco barriers down the middle of all the highways and make the highways multi-laned. I don't think 130km/h is out of the question in the slightest. In the meantime, maybe you can work out who is going to pay for the upgrade to the roads, whilst at the same time paying for hospitals, education etc. We've got a shit load of roads to not only upgrade, but also maintain as a result of our large fleet number. I agree that politicians waste a shit load of money that could be spent better elsewhere, but this isn't only a problem in this country.

Damn it... another long winded reply.

i got the vibe from your reply that u were rebutting daisy's point about training in places like finland... im sorry i read that into your post and im glad you agree that training is needed and that road upgrading is needed...

where might one get money to do this??

well u have mentioned that pollies waste a lot of money on unneccesary shit... and i agree (see i just read your post )

after they cut back on all that shit and put some of it into the health care system (they can also stop putting so much money into private education but thats a whole other debate) then they can start using the money we give them (ie our taxes) instead of putting it into a budget surplus... whats the point of us giving them money if they are just gonna keep it from us???

consider ourselves in agreement jase

owen

The answer is so simple!
TAKE ALL OF THE DAMN CARS OFF THE ROAD.
But seriously now, why don't we have a hint's and tip's for staying alive thread, maybe in the Newbie section,
where the old timers or more experienced Riders can give advice on things like riding in heavy traffic etc.
I know that if I am on a dual carriageway with a lot of car's I always sit in the right line in case some DICK does the superfast lane cross to get the fruit his Missus had told him to get earlier in the day. Not sitting in blind spots, not sitting in the centre of the lane when wet because thats where all the well maintained vehicles oil is constantly dropping, you know basic shit you learn from experience!
I've kicked a few car door's in my time but the best advice I can give after 25 yr's on the road is "give way even when you don't have to because being in the right won't stop you from being dead" (and kick those door's if you have to because it may save the next guy)

seiko1 wrote:The answer is so simple!
TAKE ALL OF THE DAMN CARS OFF THE ROAD.

aint gunna happen....so we should at least push for car drivers to be able to drive and control a car!

I also think there should be penalties for using yr car as a kitchen (tea and toast anyone?) or powder room while
driving and dont get me started on mobile phone use. With Bluetooth there is absolutely NO excuse for anyone not to
have a handsfree setup. If you get caught talking on the phone...confiscate the phone AND CAR for 48 hours
and I also agree with Jase.... a re-testing regime wont hurt either

But seriously now, why don't we have a hint's and tip's for staying alive thread, maybe in the Newbie section,
where the old timers or more experienced Riders can give advice on things like riding in heavy traffic etc.
:

..not a bad idea. there is some stuff up on the website but heh maybe we could with more tips/hints for newbies
(and I aint talking about stoppies or burnouts )


cheers
Smitty

Smitty wrote:..not a bad idea. there is some stuff up on the website but heh maybe we could with more tips/hints for newbies
(and I aint talking about stoppies or burnouts )

done!, now that's sorted, onto driver training *opens a can of worms RIGHT up*