VACC, the peak Automotive Industry body in Victoria, has backed the introduction of a new on-road coaching trial for novice motorcycle riders.

‘VicRide’, launched by the Minister for Roads and Ports, Tim Pallas, aims to find new ways of improving rider skills and ultimately cutting road trauma.

Representatives from the MRAV were in attendance this morning at the launch of the VicRoads Assisted Ride program by the Minister for Roads and Ports, Tim Pallas. This program created by the VMAC will invite 2400 probationary riders to participate in on road coaching training and provide evidence that training and education make a difference to the risks on the road.

In response to the growing demand for high quality motorcycle rider training, Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) has opened a third training centre in Melbourne.

The centre, which is located at the Cranbourne Racing Club Centre in Melbourne’s South East, will offer both learner permit and licence courses to Melburnians who find the new SE location more convenient than HART’s other locations in Somerton (north) and Kilsyth (east).

A new blog documenting the experiences of a learner rider in Australia on their way to getting a full motorcycle licence.
The site:
learner rider blog

Following a sugestion made at VMAC recently, by one of the motorcycle members (who shall remain nameless) Vic Roads have uploaded the Great Ocean Ride DVD onto YouTube.

The GOR DVD was produced as part of a VMAC initiative and funded by the funds allocated from the TAC levy. Much of the content in the DVD was included at the direction of the VMAC Motorcycle members. The DVD has been widely distributed as a "give away" and many hundreds were given away in the VMAC Showbag at the recent Melbourne Motorcycle Expo.

You can view the videos here by reading the rest of this article:

Letters to the SA Advertiser have criticised the recent announcement that the Governments compulsory RideSafe rider training course will increase its fees from $90 to $290..
The Government seems at odds with itself when on one hand it is supposedly promoting the increased use of rider training for not only learner or novice riders, but the increasingly over represented (in crash statistics) older riders returning to the mode of transport.

Typically the causes of motorcycle accidents are simple to explain. Houston County motor officer Ray Harris says, "Lack of attention by other motorists, making lane changes, you know we're small and hard to see."

Some law enforcement officers choose to ride motorcycles so they can easily maneuver between traffic and get to the scene as quickly as possible.