03 May 2012
The latest TAC motorcycle advertisement aims to talk to motorcyclists about how travelling within the speed limit could help save their life.
In its 25 year history, the Transport Accident Commission has based its public education campaigns on data and evidence.
49 motorcyclists died on Victoria's roads last year. That's 16% of last year's road toll, despite the fact that registered motorcyclists make up only 3.8% of the vehicle fleet.
We know that there's a road safety issue that needs to be addressed, as too many riders are losing their lives on our roads.
The TAC worked closely with Victoria Police to understand in what type of crashes riders were losing their lives or being seriously injured and what were the major factors involved in those crashes.
Analysis of crash data from 2008-2010 shows that speed was a contributing factor to 50% of motorcyclist fatalities in 60km/h zones and in 70km/h zones.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Peter Bellion, from the Victoria Police Major Crash Investigation Unit, has attended more than 2000 crashes. This type of crash, at metropolitan intersections, is one of the most common types of motorcycle crash he's seen in that time.
The TAC's Motorcycle Tracker conducted last year and available on spokes.com.au, shows that riders are more likely than drivers to speed if they believe they won't be caught.
The TAC's attitudinal research shows that more than one in four riders self-report speeding for at least half the time that they ride. More than half this group admit to speeding "all or most of the time".
The TAC made this ad because Victoria Police and TAC data shows us that speeding is a major cause of death and serious injury. In any crash, police will investigate and determine who is at fault. But this ad is not trying to ascribe fault, rather to illustrate that travelling over the speed limit, even by relatively small amounts, can be the difference between being involved in a crash or getting home safely.
And the unfortunate reality is that if a rider is in a crash, they will usually be worse off, regardless of who is at fault. Yet if a rider ensures they stick to the speed limit, they increase their chance of avoiding a crash, as shown in this reconstruction.
The ad shows that the car driver looked and at the point when the driver looked, the motorcyclist was out of view. The car driver makes the decision to turn out of the side street on the basis that the roadway is clear after looking, but is confronted by the speeding motorcyclist, who then attempts to take evasive action to avoid the collision.
Our message is, slowing down won't kill you. What the reconstruction of the crash shows is that slowing down, will give you a better chance of avoiding a crash and getting home safely.
The TAC is known for emotionally engaging techniques to get people talking about road safety issues. We target different road user groups according to what the road trauma data and research shows. The TAC has used similar approach to target speeding drivers, because whether you are a driver or rider, it is not ok to speed. Our campaigns, such as 'Reconstruction' from 2006 and 'Put Yourself in Their Shoes' both target car drivers, with the latter focussing on motorists' need to look out for riders.
Excessive and inappropriate speed remains a major factor in more than a third of all deaths on Victoria's roads. This ad reaches out to just one user group, asking them to help keep themselves and all Victorians safe on the roads.
The TAC would be happy to hear from Maurice Blackburn about their ideas, on how the TAC can reduce speeding behaviour amongst riders.
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Tracey Slatter