Motorcyclists are overrepresented in road accidents in the ACT: since 2018, seven have been killed and hundreds more injured on Canberra roads.
Motorcycle Awareness Week (Monday 9 to Sunday 15 October) reminds other road users of the presence of motorcycle and scooter riders on Canberra roads, and their status as Vulnerable Road Users.
Mark Boast, president of the Motorcycle Riders’ Association of ACT, said: “The emphasis is on encouraging a safer road environment that doesn’t discourage riding, but enables more riding for cost, convenience, and meeting the aims of government transport and environmental policies.”
The MRA ACT promotes motorcycle and scooter riding. It is perhaps best known to Canberrans for running the charitable Toy (December) and Blanket (May) Runs for the Salvation Army and St Johns Care.
During Motorcycle Awareness Week, road users can spot riders wearing ‘Joe Rider’ vests and report their sightings for a chance to win a daily $50 fuel voucher prize.
“Joe Rider had its inception in the ACT, and has now been adopted in other states as part of their own awareness weeks,” Mr Boast said. “Joe Rider is well known in the Australian riding community, and is viewed as one of the premier road safety activities conducted by riders.”
Entries close on 15 October. Email [email protected] to report where and when you saw Joe.
A Riders’ Forum – “a new event in the Motorcycle Awareness Week calendar,” Mr Boast says – will be held at the EPIC Conference Centre on Sunday 15 October, 10am to 1pm. (Free event tickets at trybooking.com/CLTMB.)
Mick Gentleman MLA, ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and a keen rider, will open the forum. There will be a riding (low speed handling) demonstration by Australian Federal Police riders; presentations by police, retailers, and road safety experts on road safety policy, policing, and safety equipment; and discussions on ways to improve the riding participation rate in Canberra. Attendees are encouraged to bring their machines, “so there will be a spectacular display on site”, Mr Boast said.
The ACT Government supports Motorcycle Awareness Week through its ACT Road Safety Fund Community Grant Program. A spokesperson said the event was a way to promote the government’s commitment to reducing road safety risks for motorcycles and to improving road safety.
“The ACT Government is committed to Vision Zero, acknowledging that road deaths and serious injuries are preventable, and no death or injury on our roads is acceptable,” the spokesperson said.
“The ACT Road Safety Strategy 2020-25 outlines the ACT Government’s commitment to improving road safety and reducing road trauma. The underlying ACT Road Safety Action Plans contain a focus on improving safety for vulnerable road users, and motorcyclists are part of that focus.”
The ACT Government recently gave the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research $54,360 (2021) to research motorcycle protective clothing in the ACT, and the University of the Sunshine Coast $52,603 (2022) to provide a new online incident reporting tool and learning system for incidents and near misses.
