Further Support for Signs Campaign

The City of Casey has written to the MRA supporting its aim to have motorcycle friendly signage on Victorian Roads.

The Text of the letter is as follows....


23-1
CB/ch


26 June 2007




TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I fully support the initiative of the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia for the replacement of non-frangible road signs and furniture at selected high crash rate black spots within the Victorian road system.

This initiative has come about as a result of the number of fatalities and serious injury crashes involving motorcyclists within Victoria, in particular on the South Gippsland Highway in the City of Casey.

The installation of ‘motorcycle friendly’ signs made of plastics and polymers would allow them to be hit or run over with very little damage to people or vehicles.

I hope this initiative by the MRAA will be given considerable consideration.

Yours faithfully
Cr Colin Butler
Mayor
City of Casey

More Shame file stuff

The Black Holes of Brunswick

The Secretary was out and about in Brunswick last weekend and took some photos of some of the nasty holes along the tram and train tracks.

These holes seem to fall through the cracks (sorry) when it comes to the responsibility for repairing them. As you can see, some of them are almost big enough to swallow our vice-president and his Harley...

Lygon St - just north of Brunswick Road

This one is of the Railway crossing in Albert St close to the Railway Hotel - if anyone is riding to the Noise Bar on the 1st of July to hear Gavin's Band play, watch out. There's actually a series of 3 large ridges there and if you are in a line of traffic you won't see them until it's too late.

Here's some more from various spots on Lygon St Brunswick between Victoria St and Brunswick Road.

And finally, one that looks as if it goes all the way to China...

Shame File

In his travels around the state MRAA President Dale Maggs has noted some blatantly dangerous practices being intituted by varoius town councils. Consequently, the MRAA Board has decided to establish a "Shame File" to bring attention to various roundabouts where inappriate roadside furniture is being sited - that poses an unacceptable hazard to motorcycles.

In this instance, a roundabout in Ararat has had objects added to its centre. On this particular day the road was wet, making it all too easy for a motorcycle to experience wheel lockup, lose control and hit one of these flagpoles.

Here, jagged rocks have been inserted in the median - an horrific hazard if struck by a motorcycle.

Here is a pole, to protect a pole. One would have thought that it would have been much simpler to have simply stuck the reflector to the lampost...... Note the other sign up ahead without a yellow post in front.

MRAA Receives Accolades for Roadside Furniture Initiative

The following letter was received recently:

The Ulysses Club hereby endorses the initiative conceived by the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia ( MRAA) for the replacement of non-frangible road signs and furniture at selected high crash rate black spots within the Victorian road system.
It is the vision of the MRAA that all non-frangible signs will be replaced by more appropriate ‘motorcycle friendly’ ones throughout urban and regional Victoria.
It is further hoped that this program will be taken up by all State Road authorities in the near future.

This initiative was generated as a result of a spate of fatalities and serious injury crashes involving motorcyclists within Victoria involving non-frangible signs and furniture.
The Benefit / Cost ratio of this initiative will be very high as the value of a human life to society is currently at about $1.9M.

As part of the Ulysses Clubs submission to the Parliament of Victoria’s “Inquiry into Crashes Involving Roadside Objects” (results published in March 2005), the Ulysses Club advocated that “‘all roadside furniture is as crashworthy as possible, located as far form the edge of the roadway as possible and surplus items are removed.” (Recommendation 44. page 178)
This initiative further endorses this finding from the inquiry.

Currently, tests for the crashworthiness of poles and road furniture are based on average car and truck crash characteristics which are completely inappropriate for the increasing numbers of motorcycle and scooter riders on our roads.

Through the Ulysses Clubs representative on the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council, we will be actively ensuring that funds for the replacement of non-frangible signs and chevrons at selected locations are sourced and that the replacement program will actually occur and as quickly as possible.

We will be backing the MRAA with all our resources as our many thousands of Ulysses Club members, as well as all motorcyclists residing within Victoria, will have their safety enhanced by the progressive and speedy removal of these dangerous roadside objects.


Neville Gray,

National Vice President and Public Liaison Coordinator
Ulysses Club Inc.

Vic Roads to Trial Plastic Signs/Roadside Furniture

MRAA President Dale Maggs and Vice President John Karmouche met with Vic Roads, where they put the MRAA case for the implementation of plastic signage last Thursday 7th June 2007.

The meeting was attended by eight Vic Roads staff, who are all very interested in what the Director Road Safety and Network Access, George Mavroyeni decribed as "new territory".

In response to material submited by the MRAA to Vic Roads, Richard Bortko of VicRoads Design has sourced three variants which he presented to the meeting and which will be incorporated as part of a trial on the South Gippsland Highway. Interestingly, Richard is himself a motorcycle rider with a keen interest in this matter.

Here is the content of the MRAA case:

As part of our road safety aims, the MRAA has been actively pursuing the issues involved with roadside furniture. Over the past eight months there have been three deaths associated wiht roundabouts. All of these deaths have involved injuries caused by the metal directional signs on the roundabouts.

It is the MRAA's contention that there should be a program of replacement of these signs by more vehicle friendly flexible signage. These signs are purely directional signs and have no barrier protection use. As such, a flexible sign that could absorb some impact and spring back into place would minimise not only injuries to motorcyclists but also damage to other vehicles.

Additionally, it is our contention that appropriate flexible signage would be cost effective in the long term. Not only would it alleviate the significant injury and vehicle damage costs, but our information shows that it is cheaper to install and would generally not require replacement after an impact.

The meeting resulted in all agreeing that this was the start of a very important project, which Vic Roads are keen to implement. Accordingly, a proposal will be submitted to the next VMAC meeting. Following the trial to ascertain which is the best product to utilize, more plastic roadside furniture should start to appear on Victorian Roads in future years.

Director Road Safety and Network Access, George Mavroyeni made an interesting point at the end of the meeting, stating that he hopes that when the wider Industry becomes aware of the plans discussed at this meeting, that other companies may be encouraged to come up with even better solutions to the ones discussed on the 7th June 2007.

Motorcycle Friendly Signage Meeting with VicRoads

MRAA President Dale Maggs has been invited by VicRoads to attend, a meeting to discuss motorcycle friendly signage products on Thursday 7 June at VicRoads Denmark Street Kew premises. Those attending will include the Director Road Safety and Network Access, a representative fromVicRoads Design, a representative of Vulnerable Road Users and the Manager Vulnerable Road Users VicRoads Road Safety and Network Access Division.