Just in case you didn't think you were a second class citizen...

[Mom]

If any lawyer types could enlighten me, I would be very interested in knowing how this fits in with the privacy laws.

They can randomly stop you, they do have that power, the issue here is if they are providing a safety initiative then ALL road users should be targeted, not just us bikers.

[Katman]

They can randomly stop you, they do have that power, the issue here is if they are providing a safety initiative then ALL road users should be targeted, not just us bikers.

Maybe they figure we have the greater need for a safety initiative.

[Mom]

Maybe they figure we have the greater need for a safety initiative.

Maybe, but where is the safety initiative in stopping all bikers to give them a lecture on riding safely? Or WOF and rego checks for thqat matter? In my experience the more you try to ram shit down peoples throats the more resistant they become to hearing the message. Surely they risk pissing off bikers at the start of a ride around the Coro loop, by stopping them for no other reason than a lecture that most of them dont need anyway, creating a "get fuckt" attitude at the start of the ride.

I would call that counter productive myself.

Maybe, but why should decent law abiding bikers have their freedom to ride without interference from the police interrupted, because of the actions of a few idiots. We can not be held resposible for the actions of the dickheads that persist in riding like dickheads and cleaning themselves up.

[Milts]

The other thing about those stats is how many of those overlap? For example, how many of the 'lost control on a corner' stats or 'speeding' stats were also drunk drivers? IMHO if a driver is intoxicated at the time, the crash should not be put into any other category - cornering while drunk is entirely different from cornering while sober, the issue is no longer that they were going at an unsafe speed, it's that they were bloody drunk.

The other huge problem with stats is the sample size. Pure chance creates significant fluctuation from year to year. I'm sure many on here know just how much chance is involved in whether a crash is minor, fatal, or even whether it's a crash at all. All it takes is for two more people than usual to cross the centre line in any given year and the road toll could jump very significantly for a given area if another vehicle happened to be coming the other way - conversely, accidents which could very easily be multiple fatalities can, through pure chance or very slightly different reactions from drivers, result in little injury. If you look at statistics in depth it's amazing just how little it takes to twist stats one way or the other, and just how large a sample size is required for it to be representative.

While I'm generally in favour of the whole 'greater good' thing, this seems pretty unproductive on the part of the police. Especially since in general I suspect riders are more aware of safety and road conditions than a large proportion of drivers. Regardless of whether they are or not, the time for education is not half way through a gentle afternoon ride.

Re the photo, it's my understanding that if you are in a public place, doing something which is not inherently private in nature, then you should have no expectation of privacy and if someone (anyone) takes a photo of you, then too bad. I could be completely wrong with this though.

[Little Miss Trouble]

They can randomly stop you, they do have that power, the issue here is if they are providing a safety initiative then ALL road users should be targeted, not just us bikers.

I guess what I was trying to say is, I would damn sure want to know for what purpose that photo was i.e. "Because we can" does not satisfy the query if they are keeping extra files on motorcyclists, so I was wondering what provisions there are for us to access that information?

[yungatart]

I disagree. Why should I get stopped while I am riding to the rules? I dont see why I should be stopped by the police just because I happen to be riding my bike and not driving my car. That is discrimination no matter how much the police want to dress it up as a safety initiative in my mind.

I had that happen to me once, pulled out of a line of vehicles (13, including 1 motorcyclist, me) just for a WOF,REGO and licence check "because we find a lot of motorcyclists don't have the correct licence". WTF!!
I was the ONLY one stopped, and I was rightly pissed off. I was doing nothing but going about my lawful business.
My protest...I went through every pocket on my person and my pack, before prducing my licence. I knew where it was all the time, I just wanted to waste his time, as he had wasted mine.
Totally unfair, and nothing to do with safety!

[Swoop]

More crap to carry on the loop then...

Put a box of donuts into the tank bag.
If followed, throw donut over shoulder onto road.
Wait for screeching of brakes as patrolcar does emergency stop for the tasty morsel.

Remember: There are NO Dunkin' Donut outlets on the loop! Be prepared!

[Berries]

I guess if they really wanted to have your photo they could just find a way to pull the one from your licence.

Hmm, page 7 raises an interesting question for me - casualties listed by age - were the 10-14 year olds hit by motorcycles, pillion passengers, children riding on the road illegally or are these incidents off road crashes that have been wrongly classified?

If you read the two tables on Page 7 there were 147 motorcycle casualties. But if you look at the text at the bottom only 117 of them were actually on the bike, so the rest were likely peds, cyclists and car occupants.

There should not be any off road crashes in the list because they don't generally get recorded that way. You will however find off road (non registered) bikes that were on the road when they crashed. And farm bikes. Both of those could involve 14yo riders.

[NONONO]

I find it difficult to accept some of the replies in this post.
How is it OK for someone to slap you just cos they can?
Why is it fine to be pulled over, have your vehicle checked out, your license scrutinized, be photographed, and be the recipient of a lecture simply because you choose to ride a motorcycle?
If you slap me I will bite your fkin hand off...
If you don't want this to happen then allow me to go about my LAWFUL business without unwarranted interference.
Simple enough eh?

[Scuba_Steve]

There should not be any off road crashes in the list because they don't generally get recorded that way. You will however find off road (non registered) bikes that were on the road when they crashed. And farm bikes. Both of those could involve 14yo riders.

don't forget tho because of yet another retarded decision from parliament in later years beaches are also treated as roads, another reason 10-14yo's could be mentioned (despite it still technically being illegal for them to ride there too)

[Katman]

The police are obviously as aware of the vast numbers of motorcyclists who treat the Coro loop as their personal racetrack as the rest of us are.

If anyone wants to bleat that their liberties are being compromised perhaps they should direct their indignation towards the motorcyclists who have brought us to this point.

[Genie]

The police are obviously as aware of the vast numbers of motorcyclists who treat the Coro loop as their personal racetrack as the rest of us are.

If anyone wants to bleat that their liberties are being compromised perhaps they should direct their indignation towards the motorcyclists who have brought us to this point.

Right here...says it all.

[Squiggles]

I'd be interested in if they are checking peoples licenses (conditions obeyed etc)...

[riffer]

The police are obviously as aware of the vast numbers of motorcyclists who treat the Coro loop as their personal racetrack as the rest of us are.

If anyone wants to bleat that their liberties are being compromised perhaps they should direct their indignation towards the motorcyclists who have brought us to this point.

Yes I have to admit I agree with Katman here. Certain motorcyclists have done us all NO favours by the way they've ridden (and crashed) on the Coro loop. I don't blame the Police for trying to make a difference. Thinking on a psychological level I can understand how the break in the ride gives the average rider the opportunity to stop, listen and reassess their own riding and I would suggest that the majority of people, if they actually thought about what the Police were trying to do instead of trying to be all bolshey about 'rights' and not considering the motives.

Why are the Police doing it? Do you REALLY think they're just trying to fuck you shit up? Grow up. They're playing the numbers. The reason they don't pull over more cars and talk to them is that there just aren't as many cars coming to grief on that road. I guarantee if you got cars trying to canyon race on the Coro loop they'd do exactly the same to them.

Seriously guys. Apply some grey matter to this. And shut up about rights. Some of you have no idea how good you have it here and are determined to push until the big clampdown comes.

And then they'll start fucking my shit up. And I'll be really pissed.

[Bikemad]

More crap to carry on the loop then...

Put a box of donuts into the tank bag.
If followed, throw donut over shoulder onto road.
Wait for screeching of brakes as patrolcar does emergency stop for the tasty morsel.

or does a U turn in front of oncoming traffic to retrieve his snack............