Motorcycle riders may be sent to driver school

OFF THE WIRE
A rash of recent motorcycling fatalities has Solicitor-General Kash Heed calling for regulations that would make education mandatory for motorcycle riders and those with whom they share the road.

A coroner's panel reviewed 286 motorcycle-related deaths from 2000 to 2007 and has made recommendations to prevent such tragedies, Heed said Thursday.

"There's a lot more motorcycles on the road ... and along with that we've had increased fatalities," Heed said in an interview.

"We've had almost 1,300 casualties in one year, 2008, involving motorcycles in the province.

"We want to take a proper, comprehensive approach for [motorcyclists], but at the same time we want to make sure that new drivers of motor vehicles ... know what they can do to prevent fatalities such as the 286 the coroner reviewed."

Sandra Hunter, a Cobble Hill grandmother, died March 8 after a car turned left in front of her motorcycle on the Trans-Canada Highway in Mill Bay.

On Feb. 20, Larry Machnee and Martha Ralph, both of Saanich, died on the Malahat Highway when a stolen Honda made an illegal left turn in the path of the motorcycle they were riding.

Linda Emerick of Duncan was killed on June 6, 2009 when a car made an illegal turn in front of her Harley-Davidson on the Trans-Canada Highway at Brenton-Page Road, north of Ladysmith.

The new recommendations include requiring industry certification of helmets, setting up a graduated-licence program for new riders, implementing a zero-tolerance blood-alcohol policy for new riders, examining existing standards of training schools and urging other motorists to watch out for motorcyclists.

It's this last recommendation that's the most important for longtime motorcyclists like Sgt. Ross Elliott of the Capital Regional District Integrated Road Safety Unit.

"The most serious motorcycle accident I ever had was some guy not seeing me and turning left in front of me," Elliott said Thursday.

It's the time of year when riders are putting their motorcycles back on the road. Motorcycle riders who have had a few months, or a few years, off their bikes should brush up on their skills through training and practice, Elliott said.

"I've seen a lot of crashes from guys who got their class six licences in their early 20s. Then they raise a family and kids move away and go buy a new Harley.

"They're not experienced. There are advanced driving courses for motorcyclists, and taking one would be really smart to do."

Many collisions between cars and motorcycles occur when a car driver turns left in front of an approaching motorcycle. The narrow profile of a motorcycle can be hard for motorists to see.

Elliott said the issue of visibility "is huge. My motorcycle has three huge lights on the front. I do think the people who drive cars need to be educated more. I always assume I'm invisible."

Motorcycles should leave their headlight and auxiliary driving lights on all the time, recommends Jum Sutherland, general manager of Steve Drane Harley-Davidson and a former Victoria traffic sergeant.

"Whenever I sell a bike that has a headlight and two driving lights, I say 'Leave the two driving lights on, then you have a 24-inch headlight,'" Sutherland said.

"In fact, some people who really care about themselves will ride in the daytime with their high-beam on -- anything to be more visible." greater care to protect their lives. Sutherland said he hadn't expected a new line of reflective vests in Harley-Davidson orange to be popular.

"[At first] everybody sort of laughed at them, but before you knew it we sold out. It's all about visibility."

Sutherland isn't about to give up his black leather jacket, but the one he wears now has reflective piping along the


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