more safety info

1st FAIR GO RUN - MARCH 16, 2013.

REMEMBER?

Do you remember when motorcycle riders with a pillion were not allowed
to
go faster than 80 kph in Victoria. Country, two-lane roads where
semis often
did 120 kph, were scary. It was dangerous but no one
listened.

Also in the 1970s motorcycle & scooter learners had different speed

limits to licenced riders. That meant experienced riders could not

easily teach novices on-road which was a feature of the club scene.
And,
bikes had to have front number plates. Bikes could only park in
marked car
bays which drivers hated. There were moves to make riders
wear yellow and
have all machines painted yellow. Similar laws and
proposals existed across
Australia.

In 1978 we started the Motorcycle Riders' Association in Melbourne and

Bikers Ltd began in Sydney. They were people power organisations that

encouraged rider involvement. In 1980 we initiated the 10,000 BIKE RUN

and worked with Bikers Ltd and the Federation of Australian

Motorcyclists (ACT) to make it happen. We rode on Canberra to let all

governments know that we were a well-organised voting block and we
were
not going to take it anymore. More than 12,000 bikes from all
over Australia
rolled into the nation's capital demanding to be heard.

Big runs demonstrated rider groups organising abilities and political

muscle. Thousands of riders in disciplined columns showed politicians

that we would would remember them at the next election and told car

drivers that we have a right to ride. There were far fewer registered

motorcycles & scooters in the 1980s but the protest runs were much,

much bigger.

The attached pictures are from the second pillion law protest run. It

went from Melbourne to Geelong, obeying the law, riding at 80 kph in
the
left lane. Traffic that usually travelled at over 100 kph banked
up as only
one lane was available to pass the column of more than 4000
bikes stretching
an estimated 10 kilometres.

One of the pillions that day was a young back-bench MP named Jeff

Kennett. Kennett was on Chris Swalell's Kawasaki 900. As semis roared

passed in the rain Kennett came to understand why the 80 kph pillion

speed restriction was just plain dangerous (as were the differential

limits for novice riders).

The 80 kph pillion law was repealed that year.

Bikers' Ltd led the national fight to rid us of from number plates.

Over the last decade rider representation became the role of the few,
not
the many. Moves to bring back front number plates, make flouro
gear
compulsory, govern bike motors, bring in anti-association laws,
restrict
Victoria's footpath parking, separate motorcycles & scooters
from car
traffic and more have been made by various authorities. TAC
used our money
to make a series of TV ads vilifying riders and
justifying bad/aggressive
car driving.

Rider participation in public events dwindled. Even the BLOOD
CHALLENGE
ended after 30 years in Victoria when police withdrew with
Red Cross
blessing. Again this summer the blood bank is making
desperate appeals for
donors as blood stocks dwindle over the
holidays. The Melbourne TOY RUN is
no longer in Melbourne. Driver
Awareness Rides ended.

The MRAV declined and became a social club! Of necessity the
Independent
Riders Group (IRG), which began as a think tank around
2006, went formal on
July 1, 2012.

In 2012 400 bikes at the A'Beckett Street Protest on October 29 was

considered a reasonable show of strength. That event grew out of a

facebook page. It was a grass roots response to discrimination
against
motorcycle & scooter riders.

In December 2012 the Parliamentary Inquiry into motorcycle & scooter

safety (PIMS) delivered it's report. The recommendations are good but

they are just that, recommendations. If you don't want the

recommendations brought in, DO NOTHING.

www.parliament.vic.gov.au/rsc/inquiries/article/1407

The PIMS recommendations include abolishing the discriminatory TAC

antibike tax. The hidden TAC tax means riders pay over $70 a year, and

rising, on most road bikes.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/abolish-tac-antibike-tax.html

If YOU want those recommendations to become realities, YOU have to use

political muscle. That means very public, on-road people power, as in

the 1980s. We have to tell our politicians that we know there's a
state
election in 2014 and we'll vote according to their actions
implementing the
PIMS recommendations.

We also need to send a clear road safety message to car drivers. Too
many
of us are having our property smashed, our bodies broken and, too
often, our
lives taken because a car driver does the wrong thing. Too
often car drivers
get a slap on the wrist for it. Take a moment to
think about the last rider
you visited in hospital or the last riders'
funeral you attended. We are
legitimate road users who pay our way and
we demand a fair go on our
roads.

The first FAIR GO RUN will be on Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Riders are invited to assemble at the BP servo on the corner of Cooper

Street and Scanlon Drive in Campbellfield - Melway map 181, reference
E
11. All welcome. The more flags and banners the better. Businesses
and
organisations are welcome to attend to show solidarity with their

customers.

The column will depart for the marginal seat of Seymour at 10.00 am.
It
is about an hour's run up the Hume to the electoral office of Cindy
McLeish
MP in Wallis Street. Riders from the north, east and west are
invited to
join us there. We are all in this together.

About 11.30 am speakers will tell the government, opposition and the

media what can be done to win votes from Victoria's 326,000 strong

motorcycle & scooter community. Members from both sides of parliament

will be asked to speak to the assembled riders.

After the speeches riders are invited to lunch at the Flowerdale Pub -

Melway map X927, reference J 2. The Flowerdale is the hub of some of
the
best riding roads in Australia.

www.flowerdalehotel.com.au

PLEASE use this material as you see fit - put it on webistes and

facebook, pin it on notice boards, email it to friends, use it in

magazines and newsletters and raise it at club meetings. Get the word

out there. Watch the blog for more details.

Join the IRG. It's free. You can withdraw anytime. All we need is a
name,
post code and email address.

Please pass this on.

Have a safe & happy new year

Jezz Paul ! That new computer shore does work good. Are all your posts going to be this long from now on ?

& it only took me 10 seconds to type it ( with a little help from copy / paste )

Thanks Paul for a great post. I've sent it along to my brother who lives in Avenel ( we've all stopped at the roadhouse ) just north of Seymour.
He's got a lot of biker mates in that neck of the woods. I'm sure they will attend the ride. Cheers.

How do we sign up. Wont be going, but I don't mind signing up to a good cause!

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-hon-terry-mulder-mp-minister-of-transport-victoria-stop-the-threat-of-hi-vis-clothing-for-motorbikes-made-compulsory?utm_campaign=share_button_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=26642136


@Reardo

I signed this petition & now keep getting updates ( also I now get other petitions from change.org to sign..........some of them worthwhile )

Oh that one, Been signed up for ages.

Just signed up, thanks for the link Paul. Noticed Eamonn Sullivan signed up Y'day.
Thats the bloke that can swim a bit isn't it?

This message is from Angus Constable-Townsend who started the petition "The
Hon. Terry Mulder MP Minister of Transport,Victoria: STOP the threat of Hi-ViS
clothing for motorbikes made compulsory.," which you signed on Change.org.

---

In Victoria just like the rest of Australia motorcyclists have improved their
safety efforts,even with the massive increases in two wheeled registrations.

We need to keep lobbying governments with all the resources we have
available to us to prevent motorcyclists & scooter riders being
discriminated against with scientifically unsupported requirements.
'A close
examination of the result reveals that motorcyclists continue to set the
example, with fatalities down by 17 per cent compared to 2011, corresponding to
38 deaths. That figure also includes pillions. This continues – against the
backdrop of a massive increase in powered two-wheeler registrations – the
downward trend over the last decade, which has seen rider fatalities decrease by
more than 30 per cent since 2001''
http://www.bikepoint.com.au/news/2012-victorian-road-toll-down-34307

Regards Angus

The main reason why most of these runs and 'protests' have dwindled or just plain died is because of the egos involved in motorcycle advocacy. From what I understand the VMC is starting to address this. But Victoria still has Damien Cogdnotto (sic) and John Karmouch (sic) running their mouths off and stroking their egos.