OK. I call bullshit on the AA

[Fart]

UPDATE:

Spoke by phone to Greg Hunting

"We were misquoted . We were misquoted"

He claims the 80 times figure "came from some paper at a conference". he is trying to find what paper ! (Talk about verifying your fatcs).

Doesn't know if the figures even relate to NZ !

Put him on the spot whether he will contact the Harold to seek a retraction/correction " Yes, I'm getting stuff together for that". He claims he is trying to find what the AA spokesperson (not him) actually said. Seems they have no idea !

He claims that what they were TRYING to say was that it was unwise for car drivers to just jump on a two-wheeler, relying on their car license (ie the moped thing again) .

I think he is in no doubt that he has stirred up a hornet's nest.

Onward now to the Harold

Good on you Ixion.

I think we should all play our part and email AA and the Herald. Put more pressure on them to get their facts right and for bikers to have our rights also.

I will email them tommorrow.

[bumsex]

This is what I got back from G Hunting

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your comments on the report in the news about petrol
prices and motorcycles. The context in which the comments were made was
that large motorcycles can be quite dangerous for inexperienced riders
and that the AA would have concerns about people suddenly switching from
a car to a large motorcycle without adequate skills/experience, just
because of the cost of petrol. I'm sure you'd agree riding requires a
quite different and more demanding skill set than driving.

Having said that I admit I was surprised by the statistics that novice
riders on large bikes are up to 80 times more at risk than car drivers
(this figure, by the way, came from a recent road safety conference).
We recognise that there is a range of sizes of motorbikes, and also a
range of experience and maturity amongst riders, so the risks are
certainly not as high for the average motorcyclist, and are even lower
for an experienced mature motorcyclist. This is borne out by the
statistics from Land Transport and ACC (see below). As you'll see the
figures do indicate far too many motorcyclists are losing their lives or
being seriously injured on our roads.

In light of this, it occurs to me that the AA might be able to work with
the motorcycle community through an AA project called Safer Roads to
help reduce this crash level. The project is designed to encourage
'safer drivers in safer cars on safer roads'. While the 'roads' aspect
is clearly important to motorcyclists, there could also be a place for
'safer riders'. If you'd like to know more, have a look at AA Online
(www.aa.co.nz/saferroads).

I suspect as petrol prices remain high, more and more New Zealanders
will look at the option of shifting to two wheels. Hopefully they will
do so with the necessary training and knowledge of what is involved.

Regards

Greg Hunting
GENERAL MANAGER
Corporate Communications
The New Zealand Automobile
Association Incorporated

T. +64 9 966 8949
F. +64 9 966 8896
E. ghunting@aa.co.nz
W. www.aa.co.nz


Motorcycle Injury and Death Rates Compared to Car occupants

New Zealand - (http://www.health.auckland.ac.nz/ipc/pdf/fs19.pdf)
Land Transport New Zealand and ACC figures show that the injury and
death rate for motorcycles per 1,000 riders is 19.38. This compares with
drivers and passengers in cars, where the rate is per 1,000 is 1.94.

The agencies also say that motorcycles with engines of 250 cc or greater
are more likely to be involved in crashes than motorcycles with smaller
engines. However, risk does not appear to continue to increase with
increasing engine size over 250 cc

Australia -
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) official figures show that
-
* Motorcycle rider deaths are nearly 30 times more than drivers of
other vehicles
* Motorcycle riders aged below 40 are 36 times more likely to be
killed than other vehicle operators of the same age.

United States -
The US Department of Transportation states that in 2003 Motorcyclists
were 32 times as likely as passenger car occupants to die in a crash,
per vehicle miles travelled.

Interesting. I have not had time to have a good read and to digest what he has actually said as yet. Thought I would forward it on though.

[Wolf]

G Hunting:

The context in which the comments were made was
that large motorcycles can be quite dangerous for inexperienced riders
and that the AA would have concerns about people suddenly switching from
a car to a large motorcycle without adequate skills/experience, just
because of the cost of petrol. I'm sure you'd agree riding requires a
quite different and more demanding skill set than driving.

Oh yes, and of course, everyone deciding to switch to two wheels is going to jump on a huge "dangerous" bike because there are no laws whatsoever to stop an inexperienced person from riding a "litre plus" bike...

FFS, what kind of moron is this Hunting chap?

That's as bad as the anti-firearm fruitcakes saying "people can go out and buy automatic weapons" (politician claimed he had bought an "automatic weapon" over the counter - for a start it was a semi-auto rifle, and secondly, in order for him to have purchased it legally over the counter he would have had to have produced a valid firearms licence proving he had sat and passed a firearms safety test and had a police clearance, but lets not let the facts that there are safety regulations and licensing laws in place to lessen the risks get in the way of a good paranoia rant...)

[Oakie]

Random thought ... right at the start of the thread it said that 30 motorcylists were killed compared to 300 odd car occupants. If more than 30 pedestrians were killed in the same period would that make biking safer than walking?
Ahh statistics. Gotta love 'em!

[SARGE]

Don't talk to me about Alpers, he REALLY pisses me off, has never owned a proper fire-arm but just look at the shit he spouts!
And who is paying his way?
First fire-arms. then motorbikes etc..... don't laugh, those pricks will sneak up on you!!! - then ALL your fun will be gome!!!

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Pastor Martin Niemöller

[Wolf]

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Pastor Martin Niemöller

And when we do speak out, we're labelled "whinging reactionary bastards"


or maybe that just happens to me...

[XP@]

Car driver to bike rider ... well moped rider (same licence) is a big worry to the AA!

Then WHY THE F*** are they giving away mopeds???