The Australian state of Tasmania instituted its Towards Zero Action Plan 2020-2024 in order to develop sound road safety initiatives. By identifying the state’s high-risk areas, officials hope to greatly reduce both serious injuries and deaths on the roadways. Unfortunately, one of those high-risk activities is motorcycling, and authorities are asking the riding public to help shape new policies.
Despite Tasmania enhancing its graduated motorcyclist licensing system with additional training and assessment requirements, motorcyclists were still involved in a third of the state’s serious crashes in 2021. To get to the root of the issue, policymakers are focusing on learner and provisional license holders. In the last decade, novice motorcyclists were involved in deadly crashes ten times more often than fully licensed riders.
Tasmania previously implemented stricter licensing requirements in 2017, but with the latest data, it’s considering additional restrictions. As a result, it’s asked the Road Safety Advisory Council (RSAC) to review its graduated system, but it's also reaching out to riders with an online survey.
Many of the questions center on learner and provisional license holders, with the survey floating additional restrictions on minimum age, maximum speeds, model size/power, and returning motorcyclist learner periods. The form also proposes bans on passengers, mobile phones, and towing while presenting curfews as a potential solution.
For those worried about providing personal information, the survey only asks the participant to report their license status, age, and email address. While the RSAC will treat each completed survey as a public submission, it won’t publish personal information and users can also request a confidential submission within the form. Those interested have until September 21, 2022, to respond to the survey.
Once RSAC collects and analyzes all the data, the organization will recommend a course of action to the Tasmanian government. Hopefully, the proposed changes lead to safer policies for learner and provisional motorcycle license holders. Tasmania has experienced positive results with its enhanced driver graduated licensing system, and it hopes the motorcycle program follows in those footsteps.
