August 2016

I'd like to start by introducing myself. My name is Nicola Hill. I have been elected the new Road Safety Officer at MRAWA.As this is my first report, please bear with me as I learn my way.As my first project I tried to join my local Roadwise Committee in the Serpentine/Jarrahdale shire, only to find they don"t have one, nor do they particularly want one. However, WALGA were more than happy to set up a meeting in regards to activating an initiative to reduce Road Trauma, in particular for motorcyclists, in this region.Our first meeting was very successful, with an Action Group being formed with regular monthly meetings with relevant parties that can make changes. The shire is very keen to reduce the amount of accidents in this area. As this is my backyard I am very passionate in doing as much as possible to keep my fellow riders as safe as I can, and it seemed an appropriate place to start.We will be striving to make Serpentine / Jarrahdale Shire a "Motorcycle Friendly" region. This will be achieved by looking into the following;Motorcycle popular route reviews, Road Audits, Cost effective road improvements eg; line marking sweeping, signage and road edge fill-ins.Promote Safer Roads For Motorcyclists DVD (on our website YouTube mrawa.org or Main Roads website). Motorcycle friendly business to provide helmet visor cleaning stations (this is just a bottle of Windex and a roll of kitchen paper towel)Motorcycle parking outside of the cafes etc. (motorcycle riders are easy to please we just love looking at motorcycles and talking about them)Hold an event possibly in Jarrahdale or Serpentine on the weekend at the end of Motorcycle Safety Week to promote the idea of a Motorcycle Friendly area in Jarrahdale Serpentine. This will involve some form of ride to the destination and an event there. On Yer Bike Rider Education will hold some sort of fun FREE Gymkhana and Safety Skills event for motorcylists to participate in, including maybe a FREE safety check of bikes also?I will also continue to attend the MSAG meetings alongside Dave Wright to continue pushing for the introduction of a Lane Filtering Trial. We will also persue Bus Lane usage for motorcycles (since that trial finished earlier this year with no detriment to other road users.)A Road Safety Sub-Committee will be formed in the very near future to review all other items that need attention.I look forward to working alongside my fellow MRAWA members to see what mountains we can move to make our roads safer.ThanksNicola HillRoad Safety Officer MRAWA