Last year, 14 motorcyclists died on Waikato roads.
Last year, 14 motorcyclists died on Waikato roads.
A motorcyclist was caught travelling at 162km/h on the Waikato Expressway less than 24 hours after a motorcyclist died in "disturbingly" similar circumstances.
David Savery, 54, of Kumeu, died after his motorcycle collided with a car on State Highway 25 in the Coromandel on Saturday.
Mr Savery was riding a900cc motorcycle, despite only having a learner's motorcycle licence. Learner riders should restrict themselves to learner approved motorcycles which are generally under 600cc.
Initial indications suggested Mr Savery died after his motorcycle crossed the centreline and collided with a car as it rounded a corner, Waikato district policing manager Inspector Freda Grace said.
Less than 24 hours later, a learner motorcyclist riding a 900cc on the Waikato Expressway was clocked travelling at 162 km/h.
"In the weekend's two incidents we had two male riders the same age on bikes of the same cc rating who were both breaching their learner licences.
"Unfortunately what my staff are finding is a lot of new or returning riders are overly confident and riding bikes that are too far beyond their experience and capabilities and coming to grief on our winding Coromandel roads."
Last year, 14 motorcyclists died on Waikato roads.
This year five people have died on Waikato roads in three crashes.
"That's the same number of fatalities for the whole month of January 2015 and we've still got Auckland Anniversary Weekend to go," Ms Grace said.
"We'll be maintaining a highly visible presence on our roads over the coming holiday weekend and what we're asking is for drivers and riders to know their limits.
"We've already seen that riding to impress can lead to a lot of stress -- or even worse. So know your limits and stick to them."
