Hard wired: cable barriers installed by VicRoads on the Hume Freeway are a fire risk, say CFA members Tony Owen, Max Cox and Graeme Seach. Picture: Mark Griffin

THE CFA has warned motorists' lives are being put at risk by a VicRoads decision to erect cable barriers along forested stretches of the Hume Fwy.

Powered two wheeled vehicles, which include motorcycles and scooters are a growing part of Victoria’s transport future. They are becoming more popular as both a mode of transport and as a recreational activity.

However powered two wheeled vehicle riders and pillion passengers are amongst the most vulnerable of road users.

On Victorian roads, they account for 13% of deaths and serious injuries although they comprise only three per cent of registered vehicles and less than one per cent of traffic volume.

A CAR has been crushed in Dandenong today as a demonstration of tough new anti-hoon laws.

The white Holden Commodore belonged to a 22-year-old serial hoon driver from Hamilton.

He was nabbed twice for burnouts and once for high-speed and dangerous driving.

Victoria Police will begin destroying hoon vehicles seized under hoon legislation in a bid to remove unsafe cars and motorcycles from the road.

Under the current legislation, which was introduced four years ago this month, police are able to apply to the courts to permanently seize a vehicle which has been impounded three or more times.

Thank you to all those writing in about billing errors for motorcycles on CityLink. The Motorcycle Riders Association of Victoria wrote to TransUrban to clarify the status of motorcycle tolls for CityLink as follows;

Stonington and Port Phillip Highway Patrol Units are on target to speak to 1000 drivers and motorcyclists this weekend about sharing the road safely.

As part of Operation Be Aware, funded by the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council, 520 people have been spoken to in an effort to remind all road users of the need for more attention and awareness.

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Every motorcycle rider has a story.

Some tell of close calls, others recount slipping on patches of oil or nearly being taken out by insects — grasshoppers or bees hitting or stinging the face while whizzing down the highway.

MOTOGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo pulled out a stunning last lap effort to snare pole ahead of Australia's Casey Stoner for tomorrow morning's US grand prix.

The Monash Freeway will be closed Saturday and Sunday nights 24 & 25 July and on 31 July & 1 August 2010 between Huntingdale and Warrigal Roads inbound (weather permitting).

Closure times are from 9pm Saturday night to 9am Sunday morning, and 8pm Sunday night to 4:30am Monday morning.

In the first attempt to use new bikie laws, Hells Angels have fronted a Sydney court for a hearing to have them declared a criminal group.



An application is being made to have the Hells Angels declared a criminal organisation (AAP)

Some Phillip Island Motorcycle Enthusiasts intend to Conduct a Motorcycle Display of Historic/Classic and Interesting Bikes After the Cranbourne Ride on the Phillip Island Grand Prix Weekend.

Where: The Esplanade Cowes. Carpark opposite the Isle of Wight Hotel.

When : The Saturday of the Phillip Island Grand Prix (Proposed date 16/10/2010) Between 11.00am – 4.00pm

CHILDREN as young as 12 should be taught how to drive as part of the school curriculum, legendary racing driver Allan Moffat says.

The touring car driver, who won four Bathurst 1000 titles in a stellar career, said that car dealers could get involved by providing training vehicles to schools.

NSW



The high-tech Ford Territory is fitted with a speed camera, infrared flash and a touch-screen control unit. A sign will tell motorists their speed has been checked / The Daily Telegraph

* New speed camera vans rolled out
* Could collect extra $100m in fines
* Part-owned by Macquarie Bank

DRIVERS are about to be whacked by mobile speed cameras the NSW Government believes will help deliver more than $100 million in fines this financial year alone.

The Motorcycle Riders Association of Victoria President Kerry Walton and Vice President Grant Delahoy met with Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay and Acting Sergeant Nicki Peters, an analyst from the Safety Strategic Services Division – Traffic & Transit Safety Department on the 12th July 2010 at the World Trade Centre Police complex.

A MOTORCYCLIST rode along a footpath at more than 100km/h for during a dangerous daylight pursuit in Melbourne's south-east.

Police estimate he travelled for 1.5km along the footpath during the frightening race from Mordialloc to Aspendale.

State Highway Patrol officers had tried to pull over the man, who was riding an unregistered bike along the Nepean Highway 4.05pm yesterday.

He then sped off at speeds of up to 140km/h through 60km/h zones.

THE federal Opposition says a Government congestion tax is still on the table following a speech by Prime Minister Julia Gillard today.

Road congestion in Australia's capital cities would cost the country $20 billion a year by the end of the decade, Ms Gillard said during an address to the Eidos Institute in Brisbane.

But she offered no specific solutions to the problem.

A MOTORBIKE and car were impounded by police overnight as Operation Ardent continued across Melbourne's southeast.

The bike was seized just before midnight when police intercepted a motorcyclist doing in excess of 160 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the Monash Freeway at Narre Warren, between the Princes Hwy and Tinks Rd.

SA

Independent MP Bob Such has been found guilty of speeding in a court trial which has cost him thousands of dollars.

A VINTAGE motorbike - one of only two like it in the world - has been stolen from a Gold Coast home.



The black 1928 Matchless T3 500 is worth more than $20,000 and is often shown at motorcycle events.

There are few motorcycle manufacturers that maintain a presence by faithfully preserving their marquee's past. Other manufacturers have slates of retro motorbikes, but Royal Enfield remains a player by continuing to build the same classic motorcycles they've always built.