Motorcyclists Victoria: The faces of Victoria’s surging 2022 rider road toll

Victoria is close to recording a grim record for motorcyclist deaths, with riders accounting for more than a fifth of this year’s road toll victims.

More than 40 motorbike riders have been killed in incidents across Victoria in the first nine months of 2022. File pictures.

Victoria is on the verge of recording its deadliest year for motorcyclists since 2017.

And police fear a surge in fatalities with the peak season for motorcyclists set to start in October.

With just under three months left in 2022, statistics from Victoria Police show the state has already equalled the 2021 rider death toll of 42 lives.

The figure covers all riders on two-wheeled motorised vehicles, including e-Scooters, of which there has been at least one death this year.

The state recorded 30 rider fatalities at the same time last year, and October to December is historically one of the highest risk periods for motorbike accidents.

As of September 27, the state was also only three rider deaths away from passing the 2019 toll of 44 lives, the highest annual figure from the past five years.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said police believed an increase in riders on the roads due to rising fuel costs and car prices, and a desire to avoid public transport, had led to a spike in motorcyclist deaths in 2022.

Mr Weir said speed had been a factor in more than half of the fatal incidents, while almost half of the victims had been riding either unlicensed, suspended or disqualified.

Victorian Motorcycle Council spokesman John Eacott said the amount of unlicensed riders included in the figures “tar the rest of the riding world … and shouldn’t have been riding at all”.

Mr Eacott said the council wanted to see the motorcyclist safety levy from all license registrations, currently $78.10, reinvested into compulsory refresher training for all riders of two-wheeled motorised vehicles.

“What better use for the millions of dollars they get each year from motorcyclists than to put it into refresher training … and use our money for our safety,” he said.

Mr Eacott said while this year’s figures were concerning, analysis of a five-year average would provide better indications of the issues impacting on rider deaths, injuries and behaviours.

Police dished out 238 fines to motorcyclists for various offences as part of Operation Scoreboard during the recent AFL Grand Final long weekend.

Mr Weir said motorcyclists were “vulnerable road users” and each rider needed to do “everything they can to make themselves as safe as possible”.

He said riders needed to adhere to the conditions, wear adequate protective gear, and only use bikes which suited their skill set and level of experience.

“Victoria Police is committed to increasing awareness of motorcycle safety within the community, especially through our highway patrol solo unit, which provides a specialist motorcycle service on sealed surface and unsealed highways throughout Victoria,” Mr Weir said.

Of the 42 riders killed on the state’s roads this year, 26 deaths have occurred in metropolitan Melbourne, while 16 have occurred in regional Victoria.

Thirty-two riders were killed during a Covid-impacted 2020, while 37 riders lost their lives each year in 2017 and 2018.

Victoria’s overall 2022 road toll stands at 190 deaths as of September 30, compared to 162 at the same time last year.

Here are some the riders which have tragically died in various incidents across the state this year.

TONY MULLER

Tony Muller, 29, was killed in an accident between a motorbike and a car on Boronia Rd in Wantirna on September 21, 2022. Picture: Facebook.

Muller, a roof plumber from Monbulk, was riding his bike near Wantirna’s McDonalds restaurant on Boronia Rd when he collided with a grey Ford about 2pm on September 20.

The 29-year-old died at the scene, and within 24 hours, messages from his friends had been drawn on a power pole, and flowers, cans of booze, cigarettes and a tradie’s ruler had all been placed at the bottom.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision.

LUKE SMITH

Luke Smith, 40 was killed while riding his motorcycle in Narre Warren South on July 22, 2022. Picture: Supplied.

Smith, 40, died in a collision with a car near Casey Central shopping centre about 8.30pm on July 22.

Emergency services rushed to try and assist Smith but he died at the scene.

Smith had visited relatives in Carrum Downs only hours earlier, and was set to work at Cranbourne Racecourse later in the night.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision.

TYLER MCGLASHAN

Tyler McGlashan, 18, was killed riding his motorbike near Bendigo on March 9, 2022. Image: Facebook.

A tight-knit community near Bendigo was rocked when teenager Tyler McGlashan was killed on March 9.

McGlashan, an 18-year-old apprentice plumber, was involved in a collision with a car towing a trailer on Bendigo-Maryborough Rd about 7.45pm, only a block from his Lockwood home.

It is believed emergency services worked for more than an hour to try and save him, and bystanders and police performed CPR, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision.

JAKE MASSEY

Watsonia's Jake Massey, 33, was killed in a motorcycling accident on Bell St, Preston on April 1, 2022. Picture: Facebook.

Tributes flowed on social media for the man known to his mates as “Jake the snake” after he was identified as the rider in a fatal crash in Preston.

Massey, 33, died at the scene when he crashed his black Kawasaki motorbike on Bell St, near Quinn Grove, about 3.45pm on April 1.

No other cars or bikes were involved in the incident, and police are preparing a report for the coroner.

A makeshift memorial site was created at the Bell St bridge shortly after Mr Massey’s death, containing flowers and a framed photo with angel wings.

TURGAY OZGEN

Turgay Ozgen tragically died in a motorbike collision in Craigieburn on June 2. Picture: Facebook.

Ozgen, 30, was killed when his bike collided into the back of a car on the Hume Highway in Craigieburn, near Rushwood Drive, on June 2.

He was unable to be revived at the scene and police are preparing a report for the coroner.

Ozgen was part of Melbourne’s Turkish community and described by a high school friend as “a top bloke that would go out of his way for his mates and family”.

CAMERON WATERS

Kilsyth’s Cameron Waters, 33, died in Victoria’s west during a nine-day trip around Australia., He is pictured with his two children Tommy, 4, and Billie, 2. File picture.

Tragedy struck a young family in Kilsyth when Waters, a 33-year-old father of two, died while on a motorbike trip across Australia with friends on September 2.

The group was on the first day of its trip and heading towards South Australia when Waters collided with a car on Murrayville-Nhill Rd near Brushcutters Track in Big Desert, just before 4.30pm.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, and a GoFundMe to support Waters’ widow, Natalie, and his two children Tommy, 4, and Billie, 2, has raised almost $50,000 in less than a month.