$12m boost to bike safety

MELTON MP Don Nardella must go. As the full extent of this taxpayer rort is finally laid bare, it is time the disgraced politician finally accepted the depth of his public deception and resigned.

Motorcyclists are over-represented in serious and fatal crashes and too many are dying on our roads every year. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

THERE can be no greater task for a police officer than to knock at a door and tell a family they have lost a loved one on the road.

Equally, there is perhaps no greater pain for loved ones forced to console themselves after the toll of lives on Victorian roads affects them personally.

Every road user is at risk. But some would argue there are none more vulnerable than motorcyclists.

Long-term trend data suggests riding a motorcycle in Victoria has never been safer. Yet motorcyclists are over-represented in serious and fatal crashes and too many are dying on our roads every year.

In the year just gone, almost double the number of motorcyclists died on Victorian roads than in 2015.

At 56 deaths, it was a tragic toll and one which authorities and the motorbike community are desperate to turn around.

So far in 2017, another seven riders have died. They are horror stories for the victims and their families.

That number compares to a devastating toll of 24 motorcyclists who died at the same time last year.

With more and more motorcyclists on increasingly busy Victorian roads, the answer lies in education for riders and motorists.

Eight Victorian country touring roads popular with motorcyclists will be upgraded this year.

Lobbyists have been keen to work with the state government and the TAC amid calls for improved rider-awareness advertising. But road safety design can also pay a vital part.

As detailed in today’s Herald Sun, eight Victorian country touring roads popular with motorcyclists will be upgraded this year and another 200 routes will get new maintenance in a major initiative to improve safety.

The popular routes will receive $12.75 million in upgrades to include new protective barriers, improved signage and expanded surface sealing works. The roads identified are in some of the state’s most beautiful areas: Woodend, Hanging Rock, Daylesford, Healesville and Toolangi.

Mt Macedon, Deans Marsh-Lorne, Mansfield-Whitfield and Healesville-Toolangi arterials will also form part of the upgrades.

So-called “rub rails” will also be fitted to stop riders sliding beneath or receiving cut injuries on the bottom of protective barriers at a range of locations.

Any death is unbearable but it’s often the preventable road fatalities that cut deepest of all.

Roads and Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan said it was another step forward in helping keep riders safe. “Motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable in a crash, so it is absolutely critical that riders take maximum care to avoid risks, wear the appropriate riding gear, focus carefully on road conditions and stick to the speed limit,” he said.

Roads and Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan. Picture: David Caird

The projects will be funded through the Motorcycle Safety Levy, which is a $70 annual fee all Victorian riders pay on their motorcycle registrations.

Rider groups have long criticised the safety levy — the only tax to hit a specific road user group.

More than 187,000 motorcycles are registered in Victoria and their riders pay the fee on top of their TAC levy and registration.

Since June 2002, about $32 million of the levy cash has been committed to motorcycle safety projects.

Between $2 million and $6 million has been spent annually in the past four years.

This new funding will be the most significant amount spent on motorcycle safety projects in years. This should be applauded.

Road users have a duty to travel responsibly, but these improvements will save lives.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne will travel to the US this week. Picture: AAP

TRUMP VOW GIVES HOPE

AFTER years of terrible news for Victorians, a multi-billion-dollar plan by US President Donald Trump to boost his country’s military could help make our state great again.

The President has promised to spend $70 billion rebuilding what he has criticised as a “depleted” military.

America already spends about 20 times as much on its military as Australia does, and his promised increase is almost twice as much as Australia spends on its military.

Victoria has had its fair share of employment heartbreak of late.

The closures of Ford and Holden hit many Victorian families hard.

Just last week saw the closure of Hazelwood, a significant employer in the Latrobe Valley. More jobs are set to be lost with the closure of a timber mill in Heyfield.

But Victorians will have the chance to throw their hat into the ring for an opportunity to secure lucrative contracts linked to the increase in Pentagon spending.

If successful, they would deliver a much-needed boost to a struggling manufacturing industry.

Already, six Melbourne-based companies are lobbying for military deals that could lead to new jobs and new hope for Victorians.

Export data shows we remain competitive among high-skilled manufacturers. Our state and federal governments have moved to push many advanced manufacturers away from automotive parts towards the lucrative defence industry. Now they must do everything they can to impress our credentials on the US.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne will have the chance to do that this week when he travels to North America.