Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Police take hard line on bikers

By by Kiri Gillespie
Bay of Plenty Times·
15 Dec, 2011 06:50 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A two-month crackdown on motorcycles and riders is under way across the Western Bay.

Tauranga police, with ACC and the New Zealand Transport Agency, are holding checkpoints throughout the region to examine motorcycles for warrants of fitness and registration until February.

Sergeant Wayne Hunter said bikers would be encouraged to wear high-visibility vests.

Mr Hunter said common feedback from riders was that they did not want to wear a fluoro jacket because it wasn't cool.

"Hopefully it will get them thinking ... would you rather be seen and still alive rather than cool and dead?" Mr Hunter said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The biggest problem is riders take it for granted that everyone can see them. That drivers will see them and won't hit them. But that doesn't happen.

"You have got to be seen. To be seen you have got to wear the uncool jacket. You have to value your life."

Ray Holmes, from Mount Motorcycles, said he knew of riders who would consider a high-visibility vest as uncool.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Let's face it. A lot of motorcyclists wear black. Out of most people who buy helmets here, nine out of 10 of them would be black [helmets]."

"Anything that can be used, worn or applied to a motorcycle to give a better visibility on the road has got to be a plus. Even if it only improves it by 5 per cent, it's worth having," Mr Holmes said.

He estimated that if every motorcyclist wore a fluoro vest, the stats would improve by about 30 per cent.

"But if NZTA, ACC and the police really want motorcyclists to wear them, ACC need to be giving them out for free because ACC is taking a huge amount of money by hugely inflated levies ... so why can't they combine it with NZTA and try to do something for road safety by handing those vests out instead?"

Increased motorcycle levies were introduced by ACC in 2010 in response to an increase in motorcycle-related claims.

Those levies go into an ACC account to pay for the services provided for people who were injured in motor vehicle crashes on public roads.

Kevin Beagley, president of the Ulysses Club said: "The bottom line is be seen.

"Whatever that takes, lights on, bright clothing, bright-coloured helmet."

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS


  • At least four men have died on local roads while riding motorbikes this year.

  • In 2009, 48 motorcyclists were killed nationally and a further 1369 were injured in road crashes.

  • This was 12.5 per cent of all deaths and 9 per cent of all reported injuries on our roads.

  • The New Zealand Household Travel Survey indicates that, on average, the risk of being involved in a fatal or injury crash is 20 times higher for a motorcyclist than for a car driver over the same distance travelled.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

It will add up to 125 vehicle movements an hour on local roads.

16 Jul 09:04 PM
Premium
Premium
'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

16 Jul 09:03 PM
Premium
Premium
More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'

16 Jul 08:54 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP