Please be advised of the Gold Coast City Council SMART rider training dates for 2012.  We encourage all riders regardless of experience to attend one of these days.

2012 dates

• March 17 and 18
• April 14 and 15, 21 and 22
• May 19 and 20, 26 and 27
• June 2 and 3, 23 and 24
• July 7 and 8, 21 and 22
• August 4 and 5, 18 and 19
• September 8 and 9

Contact us

To make a booking, or for further program details, please contact Council’s Road Safety Unit on (07) 5667 3624 or email  kburton@goldcoast.qld.gov.au.

SMART is pleased to announce we are now on facebook. Like us on our facebook page

MOTORBIKE riders will be part of a $1.3 million Australian study aimed at slashing the number of serious motorcycle accidents.

The ground-breaking inquiry will compare the experiences of riders travelling through accident black spots where other bikers have come to grief.

More than 1100 riders - half of whom have survived crashes - will be recruited over the next 18 months.

The announcement came as a 27-year-old Thomastown man became the latest motorcyclist to die on the state’s roads when his bike and a ute collided in Lalor on Saturday.

The research is being funded by the State Government and headed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre.

It is also being backed by VicRoads, Victoria Police, the TAC and the VACC.

Experts will analyse factors such as speed, experience and the physical environment in accidents.

The investigation comes as statistics reveal motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road users, making up 14 per cent of fatalities and injuries, despite comprising less than 1 per cent of travel.

Transport Minister Terry Mulder described the new research as one of the most comprehensive motorbike studies attempted globally.

“By comparing the two groups, we hope to learn not only what went wrong for those involved in crashes, but also what went right for those who negotiated a particular crash site safely,” Mr Mulder said.

Riders injured in crashes and subsequently admitted to hospitals across Melbourne will be directly approached to take part.

Senior MUARC research fellow Dr Lesley Day said there were many factors to consider when trying to understand the cause of motorbike crashes.

“We will be asking riders about behaviour of other road users in general and the injured riders will be asked about the role of other parties in the crash,” Dr Day said.

Variables involving speed in crashes will also be put under the microscope.

Source - Herald Sun

www.aroundthecorner.org.uk/

Interesting reading and seems like a site with good resources

The inaugural Australian Road Safety Awards have highlighted top programs around the country.

Gold Coast City Council won the Local Government Award and the Founder’s Award for Outstanding Achievement (Overall Award) for its SMART Motorcycle Training Program.

SMART is a road safety initiative that offers professional instruction for licensed motorcycle riders to help improve rider skills and knowledge of local and hinterland roads and reduce riders’ chances of crashing when faced with challenging road conditions.

Across Australia, motorcyclists are 20 times more likely to be killed in a fatal road crash than a car driver or passenger. In Queensland, fatalities from crashes involving motorcycles increased by 71.4% between 2003 and 2008 with 72 fatalities resulting from crashes involving motorcycles in 2008.

Gold Coast City Council started its Safe Motorcycle Advanced Rider Training (SMART) rider training courses in 2007, when there were 19 biker deaths in the hinterland region. While biker deaths have dropped by about a fifth around the nation over the past five years, deaths in the Gold Coast region have been more than halved with only four riders killed so far this year, one of which was due to a medical condition.

Earlier this year, Sgt Ian Birkbeck from the Gold Coast traffic branch acknowledged that since the SMART course began the fatalities in the hinterland have plummeted. ”I put it down to this program,” he says. “You can never have enough skills.”

Council senior road safety officer Karen Burton, who started the SMART course, said the $45 courses were subsidised 50 per cent by council but were open to all riders who use the region’s roads, not just ratepayers.  She said they did not knock back any riders, with some coming from northern New South Wales and the Sunshine Coast - and even a request from a Perth rider to participate. ”People come from far and wide to ride our beautiful hinterland roads,” she said.

Rather than just teaching riding skills, the courses which are held every fortnight from March to September, focus on road craft and mental approach to riding. Recent course participants Delvene Read, 32, and James Turner, 30, from the Lockyer Valley, said they learnt a lot from the course even though they have been riding for 13 years. ”I’ve learnt proper cornering techniques and feel like I’m much more in control and comfortable,” Read says, while Turner says the course highlighted the bad habits he had picked up.

TeamMoto will be participating in a Rider Survivor event to be held on Sunday 16 October 2011 at Canungra (next to The Outpost Café).

Rider Survivor will be hosted by MATES (Motorcycle Awareness Training Education Safety)

Rider Survivor days are a great opportunity for motorcyclists to combine their Sunday ride with the chance to talk to police, emergency services and others about the safety issues faced when riding.

Fire and Rescue, Ambulance and Police officers will be on hand to answer questions and profile what happens in the event of a serious crash.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to see radar detection equipment, police motorcycles and a mobile car camera first hand.

Also there will be the HART (Honda Riding Simulator) to allow you to test out your riding skills and the Department of Transport and Main Roads Databike which gives you engineering feedback on rides you may have done.

Riders will be able to take a break, enjoy a sausage sizzle and check out information on hazard perception, braking distances and scanning techniques, as well as have an opportunity to have their say on road safety.

There is currently a review being undertaken in regards to the incidences of lane splitting/filtering.  In essence the study is looking at What is Lane Splitting and What is Lane Filtering.  It is commonly agreed around the world that Lane Splitting (where a rider moves between other moving traffic, often to either side of vehicle on the shoulder or between 2 line of traffic) is a dangerous practice that has resulted in numerous injuries and even fatalities.  Lane Filtering (where a rider moves between and around vehicles that are stopped and then positions themselves back in the line of traffic when it starts moving) however is legal in some countries.  At the present time there are various pieces of legislation that cover both Lane Splitting and Lane Filtering.  It is a possibility that legislation will be made to create a specific offence of Lane Splitting.  We will keep you informed.

Just thought I would let everyone know that I am still alive and still working on improving Bike Safe.

April saw myself and 2 other members attend the International Police Motorcycle Forum in Goulburn at the NSW Police Driver Training.  It was very interesting to compare notes on Police Training and Motorcycle related incidents on roads.

The Friday saw us ride numerous motorcycles and compare characteristics etc.  2 Sheriffs from LA County were also in attendance and myself and Snr Const Phil Bolton, from Qld Police Driver Training, set up our slow speed manoeuvre area for the other states and countries to try.

Funnily enough, no one was game.
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Welcome to the Bike Safe Newsletter 3/2009.

I would like to thank all those that attended the Australian Motorcycle Expo and came and had a chat. Over the three days I would estimate that we had several thousand people visit and ask a variety of questions. 90% of people were very receptive with the other 10% hopefully leaving with a better understanding of the QPS and its policing.
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In January I participated in the TeamMoto Advanced Rider Training Course. I went into the course with a very basic knowledge and skill set when it came to emergency braking and cornering.

During the emergency braking session with Rob and Mike I received valuable and encouraging feedback on my technique, and was quite amazed at just how fast I ended up being able to stop.

Cornering helped with my head and body positions and Johnny used comic visual analogies to make the concepts simple to grasp.
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SMART is a road safety initiative of the Gold Coast City Council that offers professional instruction for licensed motorcycle riders. The program’s overall objective is to reduce the incident of motorcycle crashes in the city and to promote safe motorcycle travel by improving rider skills and knowledge of local and hinterland roads.

The program has been running for 3 years and has won two Queensland Road Safety Awards for its contribution to road safety.

Five times 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan supports the program as its patron and wants to help motorcycle riders be the best they can be. He believes rider education and ongoing training are the keys to avoiding crashes.

The training is conducted on carefully selected public roads under the guidance of professional motorcycle instructors. With Council subsidy, one day’s tuition with HART (Honda Australia Rider Training) costs $45.
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