The suggestion for front number plates may be simply driven by revenue considerations or hurt feelings resulting from photographs showing disrespect and exposing a poor decision.

Police speed camera photographs released to the press to provide some sensationalism imply that motorcyclists are "getting away with speeding" in a calculated and deliberate manner.

This is arrant nonsense. The front facing cameras were installed without regard for motorcyclists. Rear facing cameras work perfectly well.

The government will have to bear all costs associated with front plate fitments. Motorcyclists are not at fault for not having them, they were removed for safety reasons twenty five years ago. It is suggested that the cost of fitment will be about $50 per motorcycle, for each of the approximately 90,000 registered motorcycles in NSW, for a cost of approximately $4.5 million.

Riders cannot be expected to bear this cost to patch up a faulty decision which ignored them in the first place. That is a totally unreasonable expectation.

In Victoria, where front facing cameras are in operation, the proportion of unidentifiable speeding motorcycles was 0.3 per cent.

In the 12 months to March 2002, 98,624 cars and trucks escaped identification by speed camera because the plates could not be clearly read. There is no breakdown of the reasons - there are a number of potential ones - but that represents 2.8 per cent of the total Victorian fleet. In the same period, 3276 bikes escaped identification, which represents just 3.1 per cent of the Vic fleet.

So, 3.1 versus 2.8 per cent, but no breakdown of the reasons for lack of detection. If the 0.3 per cent difference is entirely because of no front number plates, it translates into 317 incidents in a year.

It is difficult to see the cost-benefit ratio for installation of front plates, by spending $4.5 million to catch these 300 or so riders, especially when any safety benefits are limited, at best.

However, there may be some officials who dislike the disrespect shown by the rogue riders who are doing laps of the block and performing tricks for the camera. But are these riders blithely speeding, or simply taking a calculated swipe at authority? The officials responsible for the purchase of the front-facing cameras may be simply seeking to cover their embarrassement.

It looks like poor management. Unfortunately for riders, this may have a component of revenge.