Road Safety/AMC Report October 20
From Dave Wright: Steve Fish and I met with the Minister for Road Safety, the Hon. Michelle Roberts MLA on 7th October 2020 and the issues that we raised with her were –Motorcycle lane filteringWe were informed by her that she had approved the proposal and that it is now with the Parliamentary Committee being drawn up and it is expected to be passed by parliament early in the new year.Motorcycles using bus lanesWe informed the Minister that we do not accept the recommendations that she received from the Road Safety Commission that motorcycles using bus lanes is dangerous, and that we will be carrying out our own submission based on research that we have which is more up to date then the research used by the Road Safety Commission showing that it is safe for motorcycles to use bus lanes.Motorcycle Safety PositionAs motorcycle riders make up about 6% of the total traffic fleets, but account for about 22% of fatalities on our roads and many more serious injuries, we believe that this issue deserves to have a dedicated Motorcycle Safety Officer appointed to the Road Safety Commission, This person could look at world’s best practice, emerging issues, trials for safety being used elsewhere, new date and research etc. We see this position as being funded from the Road Trauma Trust Account.Motorcycle Upskills For Rusty RidersWe would like to see a subsidised scheme whereby existing and returning riders could complete a riding course to improve their riding skills that covers the whole area of rider safety including protective clothing, defensive riding, hazard perception etcWe believe this would be one of the most cost effective safety measure for motorcyclist and could be funded through the Road Trauma Trust Account.Motorcycle Crash InvestigationWe have mentioned this before, but would like to bring this issue up again. We as sure that the Police Department Major Crash Investigation Team do a great job in establishing who was at fault in a road crash, but believe that this can be enhanced with a full Crash Investigation Team that is made up of Police, Road Safety Auditors, Road Engineers, independent Motorcycle Safety representative. This team would look at not only the how and why, but what lead to the crash (causes such as a medication issue, lack of training, the mental condition of the riders etc.Motorcycle Training For Road EngineersMany states employ the services of Safe System Solutions to train Road Engineers in road designs that are an improvement for riders and how motorcycles and there particular dynamics need to be considered when designing and maintaining a road.Safe System Solution could run a series or Better design for motorcyclist in WA and be funded from the Road Trauma Trust Account.Motorcycle Safety Week 2020The Motorcycle Safety Survey that we put out leading up to Motorcycle Safety Week to give us your thoughts on motorcycle safety and a basis for the Motorcycle Safety Forum was completed by 442 riders and I would like to thank you all for taking the time to complete this survey and for your comments.The Motorcycle Safety Forum on 10th October had over 60 people attend and we received some great presentations from our guest speakers, but more importantly we received some great feedback and ideas from the workshop and open mic sessions that followed the presentation.From these two events we will be forming a list of actions that we will take to the relevant authorities to form a Motorcyclist Safety Strategy with short, medium and long term actions moving forward.We will be sending out the results of the survey and Motorcycle Safety Forum and our action plan in the coming weeks.Ride Right Course was held on Sunday 11th October and was filled within a few hours of being advertised, this was held with the help of the City of Stirling, who have always been great supporters of the MRAWARide your Motorcycle to Work Day was on Wednesday 14th October and we received some photos and feedback from riders.First Aid Seminar was held on 17th October and was attended by 26 people and run by Janine Nicholas from Rider Down and once again supported by the City of StirlingSafety Ride to Serpentine Dam on Sunday 18th October was the last event for the week and the ride was attended by over 60 people and concluded with free sausage sizzle at the lower picnic area, a great end to the weeks activities.I would like to thank the group of people who helped make this 2020 Motorcycle Safety week such as success, without you it could not of happened.The Motorcycle Safety Week was funded from a grant that we received from the Road Safety Commission out of the Road Trauma Trust Account and I would like to give them a huge thank you for all of there support and help during and leading up to this event.We now have a signed Partnership Agreement with the Road Safety Commission for funding on ongoing projects for the next year.Dave Wright
From Steve Fish:At the Motorcycle Safety Week Forum an intense open mic ‘brainstorm’ session was held, where the attendees were able to have their input onto what they thought were high priorities, that we as the MRA body should tackle as priority issues.Steve is working laboriously through the notes taken at the forum to collate a clear and distinct breakdown and form an ‘action plan’.Once that is done, both Dave and Steve will compare the forum notes and action plan with the feedback and comments made through the 442 survey submissions. This will then be publicised.Steve FishThis is an absolute MAMMOTH task, so full kudos to Dave and Steve for doing this, you guys are legends, and the crowd roared their commitment.