<FONT color=#191970 size=2 face="">* By Duncan Horscroft
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* June 25, 2010 6:08PM
TWO wheels are the best way to get around Sydney. So why make it more difficult?
An 85.5 per cent increase in third party insurance for 250cc machines, scooters and learner-approved machines is going to stall bike sales.
Worse, there seems to be no research data available for the insurance companies to justify this rise.
Meanwhile, NSW councils are continually trying to cut car numbers and encourage bike use to keep congestion down. Councils even provide riders with dedicated parking areas as a reward.
But with the CTP now being on a par with small cars, what is the point?
According to Motorcycle Council of NSW chairman Rob Colligan: "It's a complete joke".
He said the main factor behind the jump in CTP costs was based on figures received from motorcycle crashes where, in most cases, no one was injured but the bike had to be towed away. By law the police have to be informed and, in turn, the rider is charged with negligence.
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Related Coverage
* Fortune to insure your bike Daily Telegraph, 5 days ago
* CTP cut puts brakes on car dealers Courier Mail, 8 Jun 2010
* Insurers fear CTP squeeze Courier Mail, 3 Jun 2010
* Bikes get safer Courier Mail, 23 Feb 2010
* Cyclists wear helmet fines Courier Mail, 7 Feb 2010
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"If a rider comes unstuck through no fault of their own - such as oil on the road or a car swerving in front of them -most of the time the motorcycle cannot be ridden away due to broken clutch or brake levers," Colligan says.
"So when a tow truck is called the police have to be informed and even though there are no injuries the rider is charged with negligent driving and usually wears the cost of the fine without taking it further.
"Third party insurance is supposedly there for injuries to a third party, so if no one is hurt how come the premiums go through the roof?"
Another concern for MCC volunteers is that motorcyclists are not recognised as a road user group and therefore receive no funding to challenge these issues.
By comparison, pedestrians and bicycle riders are represented - and funded - by the State Government.
If you are hit by a bicycle illegally riding on a footpath or by a pedestrian bolting down the street, who pays the premiums to cover your medical costs?
If we are to get serious about lowering carbon emissions, traffic congestion, unreliable public transport and fighting rising fuel costs, the Government should be encouraging people to use alternate transport by having an independent motorcycle body in place to provide relevant data to insurance companies.
A lot of young people in the workforce opt for two wheels because it's an economic and reliable way to travel.
But when the premiums are hiked to such an unrealistic level, which they struggle to afford, they will probably opt for the comfort of a cheap car and join the rest of the masses on the motorways, guzzling petrol and belching smoke</FONT>
