Scooter News  ADVERTISEMENT  Scooters V Motorcycles Again. Gold Coast Bulliten reports on the increase in motorcycle fatalities. Problem is that we as scooterists get tied in whether we like it or not.
Allen Drysdale
This article was printed on the front page of the Gold Coast Bulliten warning about deaths caused by speed due to the dangerous riding practices of motorcyclists.
Now whats the problem you might ask?
Well the problem is that for a member of the public to get a scooter licence they must sit a simalar Q - ride course as per a motorcycle. So changes to motorcycle laws will once again effect the scooter population.
So if changes take place in Q - ride and the government is forced to act due to motorcycle fatalities lets hope that scooters are seperated and treated differently.
Below is the article from the Gold Coast Bulliten.......
THE horrific number of motorcyclists killed on Gold Coast roads has failed to hurry up the Bligh Government which may be too busy to consider improvements to the controversial Q-Ride licensing system at its next Cabinet meeting, the last before Christmas.
The Government has so far refused to respond to the recommendations made by the parliamentary Travelsafe Committee, which was highly critical of the system, despite sitting on the report since June.
Even if the recommendations to fix the system are adopted, it will take months more before the legislation to enforce the changes can be passed by Parliament.
Police are also concerned bike riders are not being properly prepared for the road through the private Q-Ride courses which are often conducted through motorcycle dealerships which sell the expensive, high-powered bikes they then licence riders to use.
The number of fatal motorcycle accidents has risen dramatically since the system was introduced in 2001.
On the Gold Coast, 23 motorcyclists have been killed this year.
Premier Anna Bligh yesterday said she was so concerned about the number of deaths that a Motorcycle Safety Working Group had been formed to discuss the issue and had met last month on the Gold Coast.
However, it was later revealed the working group had been set up for some time and met each month anyway so that stakeholders, including those who most benefit from the Q-Ride system, could make recommendations to Queensland Transport.
Ms Bligh said she had asked for even more advice on what could be done.
"I, as Premier, and my Cabinet are very concerned about what is happening on our roads," she said.
"The number of people dying on motorbikes is unacceptably high.
"I have asked for further advice on what can be done in terms of the legislation and the licensing system, to ensure we are protecting people on the roads and ensure we are getting the best possible system of licensing and training."
Transport Minister John Mickel has been working on a response to the Travelsafe Report for almost six months and is due to take the response to Cabinet next week.
But a spokesman said whether it was considered or not would depend on how busy the Cabinet was.
"It really depends on how much Cabinet can get through," he said.
And then this ........
SPEEDING bikers were recklessly overtaking cars on dangerously sharp bends the day after the Gold Coast recorded its 24th motorcyclist death for the year.
Dozens of motorcyclists were caught speeding through Numinbah Valley yesterday, only one day after a horrific crash claimed the life of a motorcycle rider off the M1 on Saturday.
The latest victim, a 39-year-old member of outlaw motorcycle gang Highway 61, was killed when his bike hit the edge of an exit ramp at Pimpama about 4.50am on Saturday.
Witnesses told police the rider was speeding before he crashed.
The Logan man, believed to be a member of the bikie gang's Brisbane chapter, was thrown from his Harley-Davidson which landed on top of him before stopping about 60m away.
He died at the scene.
Yesterday, police from Queensland and NSW set up speed traps along Nerang-Murwillumbah Road as part of Operation High Side.
Within a few hours, 27 motorcyclists had been caught speeding.
One rider was clocked travelling at 153km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Other bikers were caught doing 128km/h, 122km/h, 121km/h and 114km/h in an 80km/h zone.
While police said most of the bikers they pulled over were well-behaved and wearing the right gear, The Gold Coast Bulletin watched as a group of speeding bikers overtook three cars in a row, crossing double lines and narrowly missing a car coming in the opposite direction.
Their actions have angered police who say speed, stupidity and a bad attitude have proven to be deadly traits.
"Attitude is probably the worst thing that causes people to have road crashes," said traffic officer Senior Sergeant Errol Dellit.
"You can't legislate against stupidity."
He said people who ignored the road rules again and again were endangering their own lives and the lives of other road users.
"We can educate people as much as we like, but in the final analysis it comes down to the individual," he said.
Sen-Sgt Dellit said police always looked at the road's condition, engineering and other factors when investigating road crashes.
"In the final run-down it's really just an attitude thing," said Sen-Sgt Dellit.
"They are riding outside their limits and that includes people who have taken advanced riding courses.
"Often, they are travelling too fast to be able to react to situations."
Yesterday, police also caught one biker riding while his licence was suspended for a high speed offence, and three others were caught riding unregistered bikes.
They also charged a motorist who caught using his mobile phone while driving.
The driver continued chatting as he pulled up in the police enforcement bay.
NSW police charged a biker with negligent driving after he left the police enforcement bay and travelled five minutes down the road where he pulled a 'wheelie' while travelling at 129km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Three other drivers were caught riding while unlicensed, four did not display their registration plates, one had obscured his registration plates, three were unregistered and two bikes were uninsured.
Sen-Sgt Dellit said it was disappointing that some bikers were riding at deadly speeds.
"It's extremely frustrating for both police and emergency services," he said.
Sen-Sgt Dellit said as well as the 24 fatal motorcycle accidents this year, we also had the 'hidden road toll', the riders who became paraplegics and had to be looked after by their families for the rest of their lives.
He said the joint operation with Queensland and NSW police was needed because motorcyclists were over-represented in fatal accidents in the Tweed region as well.
Tweed district spokesman, Senior Constable Troy Hamilton, said bikers made up 35 per cent of the district's road deaths and, combined with the Gold Coast region, they represented 40 per cent of all fatalities.
"That's a fairly high number of motorcyclists getting killed," he said.
He said bikers were not only killing themselves, they were killing other people as well.
"When we look at the figures, Sundays is the day they are going out and breaking the road rules and putting the safety of other road users at risk," he said.
"They are speeding, not keeping left of dividing lines, travelling on or over edge lines.
"We've also had a few pursuits where motorcyclists have deliberately obstructed their number plates.
"They come down here to use the country roads as a racetrack, so we are trying to deter that and provide a safer environment for them and other road users."
published 10/12/2007 |