WA - Police could use proposed stop and search laws to inspect bikies crossing the border into WA by declaring major roads stop and search zones, a parliamentary committee hearing was told yesterday.

We are in the midst of an electric motorcycle revolution, and nowhere is that more obvious than on the racetrack. The new technology is not about tweaking the status quo. It’s about shattering it. And that’s just what Michael Czysz plans to do at the TT Zero motorcycle race.

AN unlicensed teen hoon has had his motorbike impounded after allegedly being caught at more than twice the speed limit.

ED- Once again this problem arises where the Media reports this person as a "Motorbike Hoon" as this was the vehicle he was using during his criminal escapade. The question for all "legitimate" Motorcycle riders is whether this qualifies the person as a "Motorcyclist" rather than a knob riding a motorbike reflecting badly on the rest of us? Your thoughts please?

A CENTRAL Victorian police officer charged with dangerous driving causing death has appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates Court for the first time.

Peta Carbonneau, a senior constable at a northern metro police station, faces one count of dangerous driving causing death over a collision that killed a motorcyclist in Woodend last year.

Safety expert for Mercedes says strict speeding laws are not the answer to lowering road tolls.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT, ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FORUM

Wednesday February 24, 2010 8.30 am
PRESENTATION BY
Hon NEIL O’KEEFE
CHAIRMAN - VICTORIAN MOTORCYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL

“GOOD PROGRESS IN VICTORIA – BASED ON PARTNERSHIPS THAT WORK”

Thank you for the invitation to speak at the Forum today – I consider it a privilege to be involved with you at this level – and hopefully I can bring you some insights into some of the progress in Victoria resulting from a much stronger collaboration and working partnership between government agencies, rider groups and industry.

Victoria will become the first Australian state to ban trucks travelling in the right-hand lanes of freeways, Roads Minister Tim Pallas announced this morning.

The move is a bid to improve safety and reduce congestion on key freeways, and address complaints that slowly moving trucks clog roads when they overtake.

ONE of the 12 Comanchero charged over a fatal brawl at Sydney Airport has signalled he will plead guilty and may have to testify against his gang mates, a court was told.

AUSSIE motorbike stunt rider Robbie Maddison has told how his world-record-breaking jump last night almost cost him his life.

Maddison jumped 107.29m, smashing his previous record of 98.14m set in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve.

After his successful jump at Calder Park Raceway, the daredevil said the cold night air almost destroyed his chances of climbing into the world record books again.

See the Video on the HeraldSun Site

DEATHS on Victoria's roads have fallen by almost a third in a decade thanks to sharp drops in driver and passenger deaths, while motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities show smaller declines.

Bosch has recently developed a new generation antilock braking system (ABS) for motorcycles which has the potential to prevent 38 per cent of motorcycle accidents involving personal injury and 48 per cent of those leading to fatalities, according to a study published by the Swedish highways authority. Further, a study published by the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) concludes that fatality rates would be reduced by 12 per cent if all motorcycles were equipped with ABS.

A MOTORCYCLIST has admitted running down an elderly woman and then fleeing the scene, leaving her with "catastrophic injuries".

Mark Maccar, 25, pleaded guilty over the crash that left Joan Stafford critically injured on Easter Sunday afternoon last year.

Ms Stafford, then 70, was struck by Maccar's bike as she crossed Plenty Road at Preston, in Melbourne's north.

SLEEPLESS residents tormented 24/7 by noisy engine braking have welcomed the sound relief of a new camera aimed at catching out trucks, motorcyclists and cars roaring through their neighbourhood.

A noise camera will be used in around 28 hot-spots around Melbourne from early March.

Trucks or motorcycles letting off a sound greater than 80 decibels and a car that reaches more than 74 decibels will be detected by the roadside camera.

ED - wait a minute, since when do motorbikes have to be less that 80db? The current limit is 94db!

MELBOURNE'S western suburbs are the hoon headquarters of Victoria, figures out today reveal.

The region occupies the top three places in a list of 10 suburbs where motorists reside whose cars have been confiscated by police for hoon driving.

St Albans tops the list of home suburbs of people who have had their cars impounded under State Government hoon laws, ahead of Werribee and Hoppers Crossing.

Frankston, Craigieburn and regional Shepparton and Mildura also feature prominently on the list of where hoons live.

Dale Maggs notified us of this roundabout in Ballarat.




Here is yet another example of unsafe process installations that may harm a rider if he was to fall at this Ballarat roundabout. The protruding pole support should be flush with the concrete eliminating the risk of harm to a rider, cyclist or pedestrian or even the damage risk to a motorist.

THE number of unsafe vehicles on Victorian roads is growing.

The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce is so concerned it has released images of some of the worst offenders.

VACC chief executive David Purchase says the chamber's own data shows one in four Victorian vehicles is unsafe.



VACC chief David Purchase with tyres that were too dangerous to drive on. Picture: Paul Trezise Source: Herald Sun

Picture: Tony Eccleston Source: HWT Image Library

EASTLINK has recorded its first fatality after a truck crashed into a pylon and burst into flames near the Wellington Road exit at Rowville yesterday.

The accident occurred about 3.15pm on the north-bound section. One person was killed and traffic in both directions was blocked for several hours.

The Motorcycle Riders Association (Victoria) wishes to bring to the attention of all roads authorities the unmitigated failure of the wire rope barrier type installed on Eastlink to arrest this truck. If not the for the overhead sign support the truck would have crossed into on coming traffic. Our condolences to the family of the driver over this tragedy.

THEY'RE easy to park, a dream in city traffic and cheap as chips to run.

And it seems the risks of helmet hair and wet weather aren't putting off too many, with the popularity of scooters and motorbikes now growing at a rate four times that of cars.

NEW YORK — "American Chopper" is riding off into the sunset.

The popular TLC series based on the feuding Teutul family and their custom-built motorcycle business is going off the air after six seasons. TLC said Wednesday that the final episode will air Thursday.

TOKYO — Japanese motorcycle maker Yamaha Motor announced Friday plans to close seven factories globally with the loss of 1,000 jobs, in an effort to bounce back from a 2.4-billion-dollar annual loss.