Latest News

He's Doohan it for road safety

Oct 31, 2009

FORMER world motorcycle champion Mick Doohan is the new face of safe riding in South Australia.

Mr Doohan said a graphic new TV commercial, which superimposes everyday objects like phone boxes and trees on to a motorcycle track, should leave no doubt about the consequences of a street crash.

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Two wheels wins in crowded Sydney

Oct 28, 2009

Rising fuel costs, congestion, no parking, poor public transport and environmental concerns are driving up motorcycle use.

Yet, transport policy lags far behind and has failed to create equity for this growing group of road users.

Sydney Council’s move to free motorcycle parking one year ago has been widely applauded and embraced. Yet, the State Government has failed to create road toll and registration equity, and has inadequately invested in safety campaigns, according to the Motorcycle Council of NSW.

“The total spend on safety campaigns since 2003 has been less than four million,’’ Guy Stanford of the Motorcycle Council of NSW said. “But it makes economic sense to move to a scooter or small bike. The average car journey carries 1.1 people, rolling a tonne-and-a-half to shift just one person.

“Motorcycles are less than 200kg. A lot of people are shifting to motorcycles for convenience, initially because of the overstretched public transport system. But as petrol prices start to bite, it makes economic sense. There has been a big growth in 250cc bikes.’’

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Motorcycle Buyers Encourage to Take Advantage of Economic Incentives

Oct 12, 2009

Figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show 82,601 motorcycles, scooters and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were sold in the nine months to September – a 14.4 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2008.

“The motorcycle market has faced a period of challenging economic circumstances and although down on the record highs of last year has remained resilient,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

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Protective Clothing

Position Statement – Protective Clothing

Research has shown that in a crash protective clothing is able to reduce the severity of injuries. However, there is no guarantee that what is sold as motorcycle protective clothing is “fit for purpose”.

Priority:- High

Where we are now:-

The Motorcycle Council of NSW has been able to obtain funding from the Motor Accidents Authority (MAA) to review research that has been conducted into the effectiveness of protective clothing. The findings of this review are the basis of the information which is on our website.

This review found that there is no guarantee that what is sold as motorcycle protective clothing will actually perform as expected in the event of a crash. The only standards currently available are those that have been developed in Europe. These are called CE standards and currently retailers promote the benefits of armour that conforms to the CE standard.

A protective clothing seminar was held in May 2005 which was attended by representatives of manufacturers, importers and retailers as well as other interested parties and the recommendations of this seminar were:-

  1. to adopt the European CE Standards
  2. that these standards should be voluntary

Where we want to be:-

When riders purchase protective clothing they can be certain that they will be adequately protected in the event of a crash.

How to get there:-

Maintain representation of the steering committee that was formed to implement the recommendations of the protective clothing seminar.

Work with the Australian Motorcycle Council (AMC) and rider groups in other states to raise awareness of CE standards for protective clothing.