Waikato bike numbers are down
Levies drive motorcyclists to park up
AARON LEAMAN Last updated 05:00 27/09/2011SharePrint Text Size Relevant offersIncreased motorcycle levies have led to a biking exodus from Waikato roads, with registered motorcycles down more than 20 per cent from two years ago.
The statistics, compiled by the New Zealand Transport Agency, have alarmed biking enthusiasts who say the hefty ACC levies target riders unfairly and are pushing people off two wheels and into cars. In August, 4584 motorcycles were registered in the Waikato, down from 5858 two years ago.
ACC hiked its motorcycle levies last year to address increasing costs of claims resulting from motorcycle crashes. Transport Ministry figures show motorcyclists are 18 times more likely than other road users to be involved in a crash, and bear some or all of the fault for 60 per cent of those crashes. Most at risk were riders aged 15-25 or older riders, aged 30-50, who were returning to bike riding.
But Green Party transport spokesman Gareth Hughes said the focus needed to be on making roads safer. He also said more money should be spent on rider training. "It's just not enough raising ACC levies as a silver bullet to combat crash rates. One of the key parts of motorcycle safety is redeveloping the roads. But what we've seen under the Government's 10-year funding plan is the vast bulk of money going on roads of national significance and less on local roads and road safety," Mr Hughes said.
"It doesn't make sense that people are being pushed away from these fuel-efficient modes of transport."
Seasoned rider Ward Fischer, who runs the Hamilton Motorcycle Riding School on Avalon Dr, said the increased levies should have been phased in.
"If ACC were a private company and continued on like it was, it would have gone bust," Mr Fischer said. "So the costs had to be passed on but the Government could have done it progressively rather than one big hit. What it has done is caused people to be dishonest in terms of not registering their bikes. They are also swapping numberplates between bikes which is fairly common."
Mr Fischer, who has ridden bikes for 51 years, owns several bikes but recently sold one because of the registration cost.
Registering one of his bikes with an engine size over 600cc has gone from $280 to $528 a year.
"My two big bikes were costing about $1200 a year to register, so I had to look at it and say this is ridiculous," Mr Fischer said. "I also know a lot of people who only register their bikes for a short period of time and the rest of the time they sit in the shed."
Ulysses Club vice-president Howard Mansell said although the motorcycle club's nationwide membership had dipped only slightly from 3000 to 2800 riders, fewer people were turning up for organised rides. It was increasingly common for riders not to register their bikes in the winter months. "We all recognise ACC will say they're not getting the money they need and their answer is probably to increase levies again," Mr Mansell said. "But motorcycle training is the answer. Quite honestly the training for riders is terrible right now. Advanced training is what's needed, not punishing people for getting hurt."
Ad Feedback Heath Boddie, owner of the Hamilton Motorcycle Centre, said the crash statistics used to justify the levies hike were biased against riders. He said crashes involving motorbikes were typically caused by other motorists not seeing a rider. Hikes in levies hadn't provided ACC with a funding windfall, Mr Boddie said, with riders choosing to register their bikes for shorter periods.
"ACC levies haven't helped bike sales but to be honest sales were in decline before that.
"Most people's turnover in this industry has halved over the last three years.
"The levy increase has hurt the people who have three or four bikes," Mr Boddie said.
"What we are finding is that before when people used to get a registration bill once a year they just paid it.
"Now most people put it on hold through winter. So ACC is probably getting less money that what they were before they put the levies up."
- Waikato Times
This was on todays website.
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