Review of motorcycle licencing and training report released

Monash Uni's accident research centre has released a review of
motorcycle licensing and training (http://tinyurl.com/9fery).
Among the recommendations:
* Zero BAC for L and P-plate riders.
* No pillion riders for L and P-plate holders.
* That motorcycle riders hold a full car licence before they get a
motorcycle licence.
Radio this morning compares riding a motorbike to be a similar
experience to piloting a light aircraft.

"In an optimal model, and following the principles of graduated
licensing, granting a motorcycle licence should be seen as a higher step
in licensing than granting a car licence, in the same way that a heavy
vehicle licence is considered a more advanced form of licence than a car
licence. If this option is not possible in some jurisdictions, an
alternative would be to increase the minimum age for solo riding to be
equivalent to the minimum age for solo car driving. Thus, the minimum
age for obtaining a learner motorcycle licence would become equivalent
to the minimum age for obtaining a provisional car drivers licence.
The need for a restricted licence with the same conditions as the
motorcycle provisional licence, to apply to riders who already have a
full car licence, must be underlined.
It is important to be aware that training and licensing systems operate
as a system and changing the mix of components can alter the
effectiveness of individual components.
Any potential interactive effects should be carefully examined in making
changes to any current or proposed training and licensing system."

- sanbar

 

<Snip>

As difficult as a light plane???????

Most people i know who ride bikes started at 5 or 6 years old, does
this mean that flying is child's play?

Regards


Steve

 

"The research suggests that any safety benefits of motorcycle licensing and
training probably result more from reductions in the total amount of riding
than from reductions in crash risk per kilometre travelled."

Another fine piece of research from the Monash Mob!

The move is on. Rid the road of those pesky two wheeled nuances. That'll
save 'em! Next it will be zero BAC for all riders and speed limiters 'cause
they're more dangerous than trucks. Never mind the fact that most accidents
are a car drivers fault. Educating them to a similar level won't help!

I s'pose I better read the rest of it now...

 

Just a slight difference mate!

 

just like NSW already is

hmm in some respects a good idea as gives roadcraft before having to deal
with
having only 2 wheels

 

Dain CB750

 

Of course, the counterargument here is, if a driver is a d!ckhead,
which would you rather? That they ride a 200kg machine, and
statistically only put themselves at risk? Or drive a 2000kg machine,
that puts everyone on the road at significant risk?

They can legislate all they want, but an idiot is going to be an
idiot, 2 wheels or 4. Personally, I'd rather they not be driving a
hoonmobile while talking on their mobile phone.

Also, on a similar topic, wasn't there some statistics calculated a
long time back that it was older 'new' riders that were
disproportionally high in the accident/fatality stats? Due to their
inability to adjust from 4 to 2 wheels, and the feeling that if they
knew cars, they knew bikes. Or was that just in the northern states
that had 'Gold' licenses (no minimum CC restrictions)?

Morgan Vening

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 29 Jul 2005 22:41:47 +1000

Not really.

Yes, the absolute number of older riders in crashes increased, but so
did the absolute number of older riders.

Welcome to the baby-boom demographic hump.

I have seen, I think, one set of numbers that said older riders were
over-represented in crashes compared to several sets that said the
opposite, that given their absolute numbers they were under-represented.


Zebee

 

I know plenty of people who were riding minibikes at 5 onwards (I got
mine at 7)

JL

 

Bullshit, it's arse about face - the Europeans have the right idea - a
50cc moped,bike or scooter at 15/16 before you can get a car licence.

I'd take it one step further, should be compulsory to do a year on a
bike before you're allowed to get a car licence. Driving a car for a
year teaches you shit all about roadcraft, riding forces you to.

JL

 

Is that why you gave it away?

No way on earth is flying comparable to riding. In the air, the stakes
are much higher, the hazards are more difficult to spot, you can't just
pull over to gather your thoughts, and trying to equate pulling into
your driveway with bringing an aircraft in to land would require_some_cheek.

So it_is_child's play, then?

Including you? I mean, since you're not allowed to fly (too visibly
insane?), and since riding a bike is_at_least_as difficult as flying a
plane...

No doubt, since that would provide you with heaps of company in your new
state of being a pedestrian, and you troll pussies need that kind of
reassurance...

As that report makes such prominent mention of stuff like lifting the
minimum age for the obtainment of a motorcycle license to match that for
a car license, it wears its Victoria-centric outlook in the middle of
its forehead.

How they can conduct an objective study and conclude that operating a
bike is more demanding than a car is beyond me. Bikes pull ahead of cars
in terms of difficulty of use when pushed. When bimbled about on and
used in traffic, frankly, bikes are like less-tiring, heavier bicycles,
and by the time using motorised personal transport comes into the
equation, most people will have known how to work those for what, a decade?

 

Actually speaking as someone who does fly and does ride... I reckon bike
riding is about as close as you can get to flying, but it's still two
dimensional. If you want to imagine flying a light plane and you
haven't done it then try to imagine your bike capable of moving in 3
dimensions as easily as it does in two and and cross it with a small
boat (so it reacts to the medium it's travelling through).

That's ignoring landing of course... flying a plane is easy, landing is
a skill


G-S

 

Is it a prerequisite to ride a 50cc scooter or is that the only legal form of
motor powered transportation? Is getting a scooter some sort of status
symbol there in the same way that an 18yo getting a licence and a car is
here? Do these scooter riders live and travel in the same sort of environment
as 18yo Australians in the major cities?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sun, 31 Jul 2005 17:11:58 +1000

getting a scooter is important, because it's freedom. THey also buy
hotup kits for them, Ask CrazyCam....

The cities they live in and travel in are more congested, and so
probably slower traffic generally, and better mannered than most
Australian cities.

I think it's no accident that places like Adelaide allow a 50cc scooter
to be ridden on a car licences, and don't have problems with that - it's
mostly tourists who ride them, but the traffic is slower and generally
less aggro than Sydney or Melbourne.

Zebee

 

So bikes are harder then are they? Don't think so.

Mini bikes. You know, small motorcycles for small people. In my sons
case, (only 3) he only rides around the shed, but he is learning
throttle and brake control very well.

Sitting on a computer is a bit different to actually doing it though.

Steve

 

yeah, and 5 and 6 year olds aren't playing in the traffic either

the report is with regard to licencing, therefore reviewing road riding, not
minibike riding, therefore bringing in a few more things to worry about

ck

 

But riding a bike in traffic is no more difficult than driving a car in
traffic in my view. Having said that, I would not like to be trying to
learn to ride a bike in traffic if I had not ridden a bike before.

Steve

 

my daughter raced mini mx and enduros for many years - till she was 16

she is now 18 and has a drivers licence but we won't let her get a bike
licence until she has a few years on the road in a tintop under her belt.

riding a bike and riding a bike in traffic are completely different.
Teaching her to drive a car was testimony to that.

driving a car in traffic and riding a bike in traffic are completely
different - it is to do with vulnerability and that's what people don't
think about in cars - and sometimes on bikes. Ever see a motorcyclist climb
out from under a car and ask to perform that braking move again?

ck

 

And Perth. There are specialist scooter hirers for tourists but it's mostly
local kids who ride them.
Perth kids can also get a moped licence at 16.

Bali was great, got back yesterday.

Theo

 

Well, I had a two-wheeler at 4, and didn't need a licence to ride it on the
roads. Most people ride a treadly before they get a car. Doesn't appear to
help any.

Theo