Fewer deaths on the road is the aim of Motorcycle Month, which kicked off with Auckland Transport's Motorcycle and Scooter Breakfast at the Auckland Fish Market on Thursday 10 November.
Working together to improve safety
Auckland Transport is working alongside Road Safety partners NZ Transport Agency, ACC, the Motorcycle Advisory Council (MSAC) and NZ Police to support the new Motorcycle Safety Strategy. The strategy aims to lower the number of motorcycle crashes and improve rider safety.
"Riding a motorcycle requires a different set of skills and a higher level of vehicle control than driving a car. The potential outcomes of any crash, whether caused by the rider, other road users, the road environment or the vehicle itself, are more severe for motorcyclists," says Claire Dixon, AT's Community Transport Manager.
"Everyone who uses the roads deserves to get home safely. We are working with our key road safety partners on driver and rider safety education, targeted enforcement, rider skill training and better engineered roads."
Campaign over summer
Over the summer there will be education checkpoints, high risk enforcement, training courses, promotions at rider events and a supporting media campaign. The aim is to encourage riders and drivers to be more vigilant and aware of each other.
Crash data shows there were 113 death and serious injury (DSI) casualties from motorcycle crashes in Auckland for 2015. This is a 18 per cent increase from 2014 and amounts to around 1 in 5 of all serious injury crashes in Auckland.
