As we've reported, the Transport Ministry is proposing new safety regulations to protect motorcycle drivers after an alarming and ever increasing number of road fatalities. The new regulations will include the use of specific helmets and license classifications. But along with new regulations will come sensitization for both motorcycle drivers and vehicle drivers.
In fact, as the managing director of RF&G Insurance pointed out in an interview with us yesterday, in most of their cases involving motorcycle accidents, they find that it is the driver of the car or truck at fault.
He told us more yesterday.
Andrew Roe, Managing Director, RF&G Insurance
"One, a motorcycle is roughly a third the size of a motor vehicle. So when you are looking down the road to see a motorcycle that's coming, you see a much smaller object. Now you might be used to seeing vehicles and so your depth perception says that motorcycle is far away enough that I can make this turn so I'm going to go for it."
"You don't realize how fast that motorcycle is coming. And so we read in our claim forms so many times, I thought I could make the turn. I saw the motorcycle coming, but I didn't think I would hit it. They make the turn anyway and the impact occurs."
"That's one. Second, psychologically, people when they're driving, they're looking, you look left, you look right. You see the motorcycle, your eyes see the motorcycle but your brain does not register it because you are looking for motor vehicles, you're not looking for motorcycles."
"So again, our claims forms say I pulled out and I looked and I didn't see the motorcycle coming and I had the accident. So to your question now, how is it impacting the motorcycle rating? We're not seeing much movement in motorcycle prices because the claims are coming out of the motor vehicles."
"What I can say though is I, 100% appreciate what you said first about the economics of motorcycles. That's why they're so prevalent. I do hope for the day when we have a public transportation system that is suitable for any person to get on board and move freely around whether it's their city, their town, their country so that people are not placed in these dangerous positions because of purely economics and lack of transportation availability for them."
"The solution in my mind is a multifaceted one. There has to be more regulation on motorcycles and I see some of that moving forward. They need to do better at making sure that the laws are there and they're working, that they're enforced, that drivers, the motorcycle riders are trained, all of that needs to happen."
"But there also needs to be better safety campaigns for drivers. They need to be a lot more aware that they're sharing the road with not just vehicles, with motorcycles, with bicycles, with pedestrians, with the whole nine yards."
