In a move to make Gold Coast Bike Week more family friendly the organisers have made some significant changes to the event format and activities. (more…)

Many years ago I was involved in driver and rider training at the Police Driving School in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe).  I was intrigued one Saturday morning, during the weekly spit and polish session, by the antics of one of our new recruits.  My attention was drawn to this unfortunate soul who had just filled her Vespa scooter with petrol.  She had managed to kick start the ungainly machine and had mounted the saddle with the intention of riding it away from the fuel pump for further polishing and later inspection.  (more…)

32 motorcyclists, including one pillion, have lost their lives in Queensland so far this year (as at 15 May 2009).  Of these, 12 are in the age group 16 to 29 years and 10 fatalities are in the 40 to 49 year age group.  Last year the predominant age group for motorcycle deaths was 30 to 39 years.  The propensity for more mature motorcyclists to die in crashes is difficult to explain because almost all of them were at fault in multi vehicle crashes.  Those killed in single vehicle crashes usually lost control of their machine for one reason or another and crashed into roadside objects.

The Gold Coast Hinterland has so far had two deaths with Northern Queensland, Central Queensland and Brisbane area accounting for 6 deaths each. (more…)

Again we have some sad news regarding another motorcycle fatality in our local region. While this is always a painful thing to discuss in the media, it does bring to the fore one of the main reasons for the formation of MATES - to assist with the promotion of greater rider safety on our roads through the actions and advice of our peers.

Regardless to say however that another needless death has occurred, and a reminder that road conditions play a definite part in how we use the roads. And my condolences go out to the family of Mr Palmer.

You can see the article here (this opens in a new window to the GC Bulletin article) and the respective debate regarding cause.  Be sure to read the comments by readers after the story, and of course we would be interested to hear of your experiences with Road Conditions or advice on what other major bike routes have dangers we need to be aware of.