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Heres a link for the online petition against front plates..
http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/16944.html
VMAC chair rejects front plates
The national proposal to fit motorcycles with front numberplates has been rejected in the state which first promoted the idea, by the Chair of the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council (VMAC), former member of Federal Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary Mr Neil O'Keefe (pictured).
That body is a broad group of stakeholders which is intended to advise the state Minister for Transport, Mr Tim Pallas, on motorcycle issues.
However Vicroads, the state road bureaucracy, somehow managed to bypass VMAC when it developed its most recent proposals.
O'Keefe has written to the Minister, leaving little doubt on his and VMAC's views of the situation.
Here is an edited version of the letter:
Some years ago, in response to complaints from police that motorcyclists were avoiding detection by speed cameras due to the absence of front number plates, Ministerial Council commissioned work by Vicroads (I assume Victoria volunteered or was the sponsoring state for the idea) to investigate the feasibility and policy considerations around installation of front number plates on motorcycles.
At the time there was heavy negative feedback from motorcyclists and strong advice from industry that design, safety and aerodynamic issues made this proposal very difficult - if not ill considered.
At the time I conveyed to your predecessor my view that the proposal was a "knee-jerk" reaction to a few incidents which had little or no safety benefit and did not warrant this kind of effort or expenditure of political capital with the motorcycle community.
The statistical evidence shown to me at the time seemed to indicate that .03% of motorcyclists were avoiding detection - exactly the same as the proportion of motorists avoiding camera detection through dirty, obscured or false front number plates. To give a nation wide priority to a measure with such minor impact seemed to me to have been skewed in the thinking behind it.
These are probably the reasons why no other jurisdiction in the developed world has seen this as an essential safety measure related to motorcycling.
VMAC has since been led to understand that Vicroads had continued to work on the brief but had taken on board the strong view that this was not supported as a measure - and the strong advice from industry that it was not technically feasible across the range of motorcycles now on the roads.
At our meeting a valid example was given of the expectation that the "55 year old owner of a highly chromed, $35,000 Harley Davidson cruiser" is going to happily let someone drill holes in it to put on a front number plate - get real!!"
It is now clear that Vicroads not only continued to work on the brief - but failed to consult with industry leaders in Victoria on the safety or technical issues.
Vicroads also gave no indication to VMAC that the matter was still live or that Vicroads was recommending to Ministers that the project is technically feasible. In fact, in response to a number of informal requests for advice over time the very clear indication had been given that the matter was dormant at the level of Ministerial Council and that Vicroads was not putting a lot of energy into it.
Hence this letter.
Should the matter be discussed at Ministerial Council on Friday, I wish you to be informed that VMAC does not support this proposal and that there are very sound reasons for doing so.
Given the nature of the makeup of VMAC I should also clarify this advice. Some members represent agencies involved in sponsoring the idea in the first place and may remain supportive of the idea. Others have never given it consideration. Not all made comment at the meeting.
However, a substantial majority of VMAC members have been and remain fully informed on the topic and hold the quite strong view that the idea should be opposed for all the reasons I have outlined above.
http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/16944.html
VMAC chair rejects front plates
The national proposal to fit motorcycles with front numberplates has been rejected in the state which first promoted the idea, by the Chair of the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council (VMAC), former member of Federal Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary Mr Neil O'Keefe (pictured).
That body is a broad group of stakeholders which is intended to advise the state Minister for Transport, Mr Tim Pallas, on motorcycle issues.
However Vicroads, the state road bureaucracy, somehow managed to bypass VMAC when it developed its most recent proposals.
O'Keefe has written to the Minister, leaving little doubt on his and VMAC's views of the situation.
Here is an edited version of the letter:
Some years ago, in response to complaints from police that motorcyclists were avoiding detection by speed cameras due to the absence of front number plates, Ministerial Council commissioned work by Vicroads (I assume Victoria volunteered or was the sponsoring state for the idea) to investigate the feasibility and policy considerations around installation of front number plates on motorcycles.
At the time there was heavy negative feedback from motorcyclists and strong advice from industry that design, safety and aerodynamic issues made this proposal very difficult - if not ill considered.
At the time I conveyed to your predecessor my view that the proposal was a "knee-jerk" reaction to a few incidents which had little or no safety benefit and did not warrant this kind of effort or expenditure of political capital with the motorcycle community.
The statistical evidence shown to me at the time seemed to indicate that .03% of motorcyclists were avoiding detection - exactly the same as the proportion of motorists avoiding camera detection through dirty, obscured or false front number plates. To give a nation wide priority to a measure with such minor impact seemed to me to have been skewed in the thinking behind it.
These are probably the reasons why no other jurisdiction in the developed world has seen this as an essential safety measure related to motorcycling.
VMAC has since been led to understand that Vicroads had continued to work on the brief but had taken on board the strong view that this was not supported as a measure - and the strong advice from industry that it was not technically feasible across the range of motorcycles now on the roads.
At our meeting a valid example was given of the expectation that the "55 year old owner of a highly chromed, $35,000 Harley Davidson cruiser" is going to happily let someone drill holes in it to put on a front number plate - get real!!"
It is now clear that Vicroads not only continued to work on the brief - but failed to consult with industry leaders in Victoria on the safety or technical issues.
Vicroads also gave no indication to VMAC that the matter was still live or that Vicroads was recommending to Ministers that the project is technically feasible. In fact, in response to a number of informal requests for advice over time the very clear indication had been given that the matter was dormant at the level of Ministerial Council and that Vicroads was not putting a lot of energy into it.
Hence this letter.
Should the matter be discussed at Ministerial Council on Friday, I wish you to be informed that VMAC does not support this proposal and that there are very sound reasons for doing so.
Given the nature of the makeup of VMAC I should also clarify this advice. Some members represent agencies involved in sponsoring the idea in the first place and may remain supportive of the idea. Others have never given it consideration. Not all made comment at the meeting.
However, a substantial majority of VMAC members have been and remain fully informed on the topic and hold the quite strong view that the idea should be opposed for all the reasons I have outlined above.
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