A motorcyclist avoiding a speeding fine despite riding 118km/h in a 50km/h zone. Source: Herald Sun
SPEED camera commissioner Gordon Lewis today claimed the Victoria Motorcycle Council made threats to try to get him to back off recommending mandatory fitting of front number plates for motorbikes.
Tens of thousands of motorcyclists nabbed by speed cameras are escaping fines because their bikes are not required to have front number plates.
The lack of identification resulted in police having to let off almost 20,000 riders who sped past Victoria's front-facing traffic cameras in the past three years.
They should have paid $4 million in fines and lost 25,000 demerit points.
But the bikers never even received penalty notices because the snaps of them were taken from the front, meaning police could not identify them.
The new figures prepared for the Herald Sun by Mr Lewis also reveal more than 1000 of the 19,949 bikers were over the speed limit by between 25km/h and 44km/h - and 210 were more than 45km/h over.
Those not penalised included a motorcyclist doing 222km/h in a 60km/h zone at Caroline Springs and another doing 118km/h in a 50km/h zone at Shepparton.
The figures show 61 per cent of bikers caught speeding by CityLink cameras in 2011-12 escaped being fined because of the lack of front number plates, as did 55 per cent of motorcyclists snapped by mobile speed cameras and most riders caught speeding past fixed cameras on Geelong Rd and the Western Ring Road.
Victoria Motorcycle Council chairman Peter Baulch denied threats were made to Mr Lewis, but agreed his group was bitterly opposed to the push for front plates.
Mr Baulch told the Herald Sun fitting front number plates to motorbikes would make them unstable and dangerous.
He said modern motorcycles were not designed to display front plates and fitting them would adversely affect the aerodynamics and engine cooling of two-wheelers.
Mr Baulch said the requirement to have front number plates on motorcycles was removed more than 30 years ago for safety reasons.
"Are we now to ignore those safety reasons?'' he said.
"The road safety camera commissioner - with no known motorcycling experience - has chosen to ignore expert input on this matter from such reputable bodies as the motorcycle manufacturers, international authorities, motorcycle safety experts and our Victorian parliamentary inquiry recommendations.
"The Victorian Motorcycle Council does not condone inappropriate or unlawful conduct by motorcyclists or any other road users.
"We see road safety as a shared responsibility of all.
"The issue of front number plates for motorcycles is not about safety, but all about law enforcement.
"More than 10 years ago, we advised the authorities that it was essential for speed cameras to be able to point both front and rear.
"We knew there would be this potential issue, but the problem is with the cameras, not with motorcycles.''
Victoria Police supports the call for motorbikes to be able to be identified from the front.
In a written submission to Mr Lewis, Mr Baulch, argued against the mandatory fitting of front number plates to motorcycles.
"We find it remarkable that out of all the enforcement jurisdictions in the entire world, Victoria Police appears to be the sole agency intent on requiring motorcycles to be identifiable from the front,'' Mr Baulch said.
"Motorcycles were not required to have front number plates when speed cameras were introduced so any reported problems are therefore firmly with the short comings of the system design, the cameras themselves and the policies surrounding them.''
Mr Lewis criticised the State Government for failing to act on his recommendation last year that all motorcyclists be forced to fit front number plates to their machines.
"Doing so would undoubtedly save lives," he said.
Mr Lewis said both he and Victoria's Auditor-General had recommended to the State Government that front number plates should be compulsory.
The State Government's four-year road safety action plan, released in February, said it would work towards resolving the problem, but did not say how or when.
VicRoads director of road user and vehicle policy, Aiden McGann, said yesterday the relevant government agencies were committed to finding a way of safely identifying motorcycles from the front, but admitted trials had not yet started.
"I would concede that at speeds well above 110km/h, it is possible that front number plates could affect the stability of motorbikes," Mr Lewis said.
"But I have had advice that at any legal speed, the front number plates would not adversely affect the motorbikes."
Victoria's top traffic cop, assistant commissioner Robert Hill, backed Mr Lewis's call.
"We know reducing speed will improve our road-safety outcomes. It is critical that any options for front identification of motorcycles are practical and safe and use new technology to solve the challenge of ensuring motorcyclists comply with speed limit."
RACV manager of roads and traffic Dave Jones joined the push for compulsory frontal identification of motorcycles.
"It is important that all motor vehicles and motorcycles can be identified from the front and the rear to aid enforcement of the road rules," he said.
