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- 7 September 2006
Motorcyclist Safety
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Page: 1647
The Hon. Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS [5.24 p.m.]: The Motorcycle Council of New South Wales has been running a long campaign against wire rope crash barriers, which act like cheese graters when motorcyclists lose control and come into contact with them. Motorcyclists are either cut by the narrow wire rope or they bump into a series of posts at an acute angle, and are effectively grated against them. The Motorcycle Council of New South Wales is the peak organisation for motorcycle clubs and it has again drawn attention to the death of Les Finn, who hit a wire rope barrier at Frazer Park on the Pacific Highway in December 2003.
Crash barriers are generally designed for much heavier vehicles and present an extremely aggressive aspect to the motorcycle rider. In the face of continued concern and the open refusal by road authorities to acknowledge the problem, the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales commissioned Human Impact Engineering to study the literature in order to gain a basic understanding of the effects of a rider colliding with the various crash barriers currently in use in this State. The documents reviewed were "Motorcycles and Crash Barriers" by Gibson and Benetatos, Motorcycle Council of New South Wales, November 2000; and "Final Report of the Motorcyclists and Crash Barriers Project", Federation of European Motorcyclists Association, February 2000.
The Roads and Traffic Authority also conducted research into driver and rider attitudes, and published the document "Motorcycle safety—results of quantitative research with motorcyclists and drivers", by Taylor Nelson Sofres, dated September 2002. Of particular interest in that document is a note at the bottom of page 5 which indicates that only 6 per cent of drivers interviewed referred to changing lanes as a situation when particular care should be taken of motorcycle riders. The lack of an adequate clear zone between the edge of the lane and the barrier is also a matter of concern. I have raised this issue with the Minister, particularly regarding the F4 Freeway, where there is quite a large run-off between the lanes but the barrier is at the edge of the paved road and not in the median strip.
England's Highways Agency has instructed the use of concrete barriers as a preferred option. If the average annual daily traffic on a road exceeds 25,000 vehicles per day the agency has asked for the construction of strong, concrete barriers. These barriers bear a heavier load and motorcyclists do not come into contact with narrow posts or wires. Obviously, if people glance off crash barriers more slowly, their deceleration will be greater and the force on their bodies will be less. It is a question of devising a crash barrier that does not do more harm than good when people come into contact with it. The camber of roads is also important because people are less likely to strike the crash barriers on a well-cambered road.
Motorcyclists must be taken into account when designing crash barriers, which should be more motorcycle friendly. Unfortunately, most roads in New South Wales are constructed to meet the needs of cars and trucks, and motorcycles are ignored. If fuel costs continue to rise, there are likely to be more and more motorcycles on our roads. Motorcycles cause less road congestion and thus benefit other motorists. Motorcyclists have a right to have their safety needs considered and I ask the Roads and Traffic Authority to pay more attention to this issue.
Last modified 05/12/2007 16:43:53 : Update this page