Safety Officers Report - April 2017

I have had an interesting month of researching the law regarding Duty of Care for Learner Riders.As explained in my last report I was extremely concerned for the welfare of my clients during their motorcycle assessment after one of mine was abandoned mid-test after the assessor chose not to follow him when he missed an unclear instruction to turn. I complained to the licencing centre and I was told by the assessor, and a supervisor that they had NO Duty of Care as the rider is considered “a lisenced rider during test”. Unacceptable! I lodged an official complaint which got a similar result. Although every care is apparently taken to escort the rider back safely, they will be covered by insurance as a “licensed rider during test”.After consulting a lawyer, I would like to clarify that ANY supervisor of a Learner rider can be held responsible under the law in the case of an accident. That includes during test and also includes Shadow Riders.I’m hoping by passing this information on to the public that everyone takes their Duty of Care a lot more seriously. It is vital that people stop passing the responsibility off and actually start CARING about our new riders and how they are being trained.

• Attached is a portion of the legal responsibilities explained to me by a lawyer in regards to who is liable if a learner has an accident.

Legal Liability LearnersOn another note , meetings with Serpentine/Jarrahdale Shire have resumed on a monthly basis. Government changes caused some delays however the new people representing the shire seem very keen to make a long-term difference in favour of motorcycle safety. There were some great ideas discussed around the table and I will report more on these after next meeting as they progress.Nicola HillSafety Officer