The scene of a fatal motorcycle crash south of Rotorua last year. Motorcyclists are only 3 per cent of all road users and yet they were 14 per cent of all road deaths in 2018. Photo / File
The scene of a fatal motorcycle crash south of Rotorua last year. Motorcyclists are only 3 per cent of all road users and yet they were 14 per cent of all road deaths in 2018. Photo / File
ON THE ROAD
Last month Easy Rider died. Peter Fonda, the writer, producer and star of the 1960s counter culture classic film, passed away from lung cancer at the age of 79.
Easy Rider was the touchstone for the freedom movement and explored the rise of the hippie generation, flower people, drug useand communal lifestyle. The Harley Davidson chopper played a key role in the film.
I was a university student in that era, when the Vietnam War was the focus of student protest and Sir Tim Shadbolt was in his ascendancy. But I never caught the motorbike bug, and have not really hankered for what I missed out on since. Owning a Harley has never been high on my bucket list. For many of us baby boomers though, it is right up there - and that can be an issue.
Motorcyclists are considered in three categories: continuing, returning and new motorcyclists.
The continuing ones are the old hands who have always been riders. The returners might be those in middle age who owned a bike in their youth and now want to recapture those thrills in mid-life. The new might be at any age but increasingly, are those older men and women who have cherished a bucket list desire to bike the world, or at least the country, in new-found leisure time.
Peter Fonda poses atop a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Glendale, California in 2009. Photo / AP
Motorcycles are now bigger and more powerful. Returners are unlikely to be as strong or as agile as in their youth. Senses aren't as sharp, reactions are slower but the ego is not diminished. September is the month for motorbikes to come out of hibernation and those egos are let loose.
This month is Motorcycle Awareness Month, in which both motorcyclists and drivers are being urged to become more aware of each other. Throughout the country a whole range of events and promotions are happening to heighten that awareness.
Motorcyclists are only 3 per cent of all road users and yet they were 14 per cent of all road deaths last year. In Northland, 20 per cent of our road fatalities so far this year have been motorcyclists. All these have been seasoned older riders and all have been local people.
The latest ACC data shows a 24 per cent spike in motorcyclist claims in the past two months and ACC is heavily involved in promoting Motorcycle Awareness Month. ACC has also developed and sponsors the popular Ride Forever courses for new and experienced motorcyclists.
It has long been a bone of contention with riders that the annual motorcycle registration fee is around four times the cost of a car as a consequence of the ACC component of the fee.
There is however, a grudging acceptance that the motorcyclist injury rate and the severity of them is way out of proportion, in a person per kilometre travelled sense, as compared with other road users.
Seasoned motorcyclist enthusiasts often gather together to ride for a cause like this group of White Ribbon motorcyclists in Taupo. Photo / File
Motorcyclists do not have a steel cocoon around them in open road crashes, so crashes will be more severe for the rider, no matter who is at fault.
Most motorcycle crashes happen in the afternoon, with a large weekend peak between noon and 4pm. They are most often high-powered bikes and over half of fatal crashes do not involve alcohol, drugs or speed.
The day-long Ride Forever courses are offered free in Northland at three different experience levels. I've heard of a crusty old experienced motorcyclist comment that, he didn't realise how bad a rider he was and that he had learned "a hell of a lot" from the course.
This year ACC also has initiated a $200 cash back on their registration for experienced riders who complete two identified Ride Forever courses over a two-year period.
Learn a bit more at the "Get Ready to Ride" day at Whangārei's Town Basin this Saturday September 7.
• John Williamson is chairman of Roadsafe Northland and Northland Road Safety Trust, a former national councillor for NZ Automobile Association and former Whangārei District Council member.
