I was reading through Stuff this morning and came across this article:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3722442a11,00.html
IN FULL:
The recent rise in motorbike sales would inevitably mean a big increase in road deaths and injuries, a car magazine editor and road safety campaigner said yesterday.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of car buyers publication the Dog and Lemon Guide, said Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) figures showed motorcyclists were 40 times as likely to be killed or injured than a person driving a car.
Motorbike registrations rose for the 27th consecutive month in June when 758 bikes were sold, according to LTNZ figures.
There was a 45 per cent increase in motorbike sales since January, compared to last year, the figures showed.
"High fuel prices mean there's a natural temptation to switch to two wheels but people really need to realise the risks they are taking when they ride a motorbike," Matthew-Wilson said.
"In Britain, motorcyclists represent 1 per cent of traffic but 20 per cent of deaths and serious injuries."
LTNZ spokesman Andy Knackstedt agreed and said the risk of injury and death was higher for a motorcyclist than a car driver.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"There's no arguing with that.
"It's basic physics. I mean if you're in a car you have got two tonnes of steel surrounding you, you've got airbags, and you've got seatbelts and everything else.
"If you're on a motorbike, I mean even if you are doing everything right as the motorbike rider, if somebody pulls out in front of you and you are involved in a crash the only thing you've really got protecting you is your helmet."
Matthew-Wilson said many of the people who were switching to motorbikes were young, inexperienced riders with little understanding of the risks they were taking.
He said he was particularly concerned about the "mini chopper" scooters popular with young men.
The height of these scooters meant they were largely invisible when travelling behind many higher vans and 4WD vehicles, Matthew-Wilson said.
He said he thought it should be much harder to get a motorcycle licence than to get a car licence because of the higher risk riding a motorcycle posed.
"The least safe car is still probably 40 times safer than the safest motorbike.
"You can't simply allow young people to hop on to motorcycles after a couple of days training because the consequences are likely to be tragic."
Mr Knackstedt said it took about 18 months for someone to get a full motorcycle licence.
"You do have to sit a skills course and pass a practical test."
But he said LTNZ also encouraged people to do more than the minimum that was legally required.
"We encourage people to do safe riding courses, because the more you can do to protect yourself the better."
Mr Knackstedt added that motorcyclists were not allowed to ride a motorbike with a large engine size straight away, but had to progress from a smaller one first.
Matthew-Wilson – a former motorbike enthusiast – said he understood bikes could be "irresistibly enticing" and had a cool image.
But he stopped riding after several major injuries.
However, it was usually car drivers that caused the accidents, not motorcyclists, he said.
This last paragraph kind of surprised me! Im also glad that they mention that Mini Choppers are dangerous... Do you guy's reckon that the figures they include in this article include scooters? If so why do they not list them as mopeds or scooters or are we always going to be grouped in with the scooters?
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Originally Posted by Motu
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