Schoolies warned to stay off rental motorbikes in Bali
In Kuta’s main strip, schoolies are seen jumping on local motorbike taxis without helmets and kicking and punching each other until they bleed. WARNING: Graphic images.
They wouldn’t dream of doing it at home but Australian schoolies in Bali are risking their lives, riding around on motorbikes without helmets and often while drunk.
In Kuta’s main strip, which has become schoolies central since the annual end of year celebrations got under way a week ago, schoolies are seen jumping on local motorbike taxis, known as gojek, without helmets.
Often two are seated behind the local driver as they ride off down the main strip of Jalan Legian late at night.
When News Corp Australia asked schoolies in Kuta why they were risking their lives by not donning helmets, many shrugged. “I don’t know”.
While the penalty for riding a motorbike in Bali without a helmet is relatively low — a $25 fine — the dangers are massive.
Tourists killed in motorbike accidents and dying of head injuries are frequent.
And the insurance industry has warned that accidents on motorbikes, without the right travel insurance or while flaunting the law are not covered, leaving reckless schoolies without any insurance cover to pay for costly medical bills or medivac flights home, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Lisa Kable, spokesperson for understandinsurance.com.au says schoolies need to understand they will not be covered by their travel insurance if they make a claim for an incident caused by alcohol, drugs, use of a motorbike or failing to declare a pre-existing medical condition.
She says only a few insurers will cover the high-risk activity of riding motorbikes and with strict conditions.
“Some insurers require a full Australian motorbike licence and an international or local driving permit for bikes over 125cc. Others require a temporary Indonesian driving permit for a motorcycle under 125cc,” Ms Kable said.
“Teens and their families need to be aware of the importance of holidaying with the right travel insurance. The Australian Government does not pay for medical treatment or emergency flights home if something goes wrong, despite 25 per cent of travellers wrongly believing the Government will assist with medical and related costs.”
Schoolies are being warned that while it is relatively easy in Bali to hire a motorbike without the required licence or experience the consequences are often fatal.
In October Perth property valuer Callan Jay Everts, 32, was killed when the motorbike he was driving crashed into the concrete wall of a Kuta church.
Police said he was not wearing a helmet at the time although his family has disputed this.
Schoolies who ride pillion, with a local driver, as they do in Kuta’s main strip late at night, are also putting their own lives at risk.
It is the driver who must take responsibility for his passenger’s failure to wear a helmet and pay the $25 fine but many motorbike taxi drivers don’t insist on helmets as intoxicated schoolies jump on.
Research from Smartraveller and Understand Insurance shows that thousands of schoolies are heading to South-East Asian without any travel insurance.
A recent poll, conducted by Quantum Market Research, found that one in five young Australians head off to southeast Asia without any insurance at all.
And it found that 75 per cent of young people engage in risky behaviour that is unlikely to be covered, even if they had insurance.
The figures should be a sobering warning to the thousands of schoolies from southern states who are expected to begin arriving in Bali from this weekend.
With the main schoolies surge to Bali yet to start, police presence in Kuta is low and police were not around to break up a violent fight on Thursday night.
Two groups of Perth school leavers started to brawl after one apparently tried to steal from a female’s handbag.
In the middle of Jalan Legian, as music pumped from the clubs advertising themselves as schoolies venues, the group punched and kicked each other.
One young man, from Perth, ended up with blood all over his face and the fight continued for several minutes as the two groups goaded each other.
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