Beef up motorcycle rules
Published Monday July 28th, 2008
Graduated licensing for novice drivers, financial incentives among suggestions
OTTAWA - Higher gas prices are fuelling demand for motorcycles but lax government regulations may spell disaster on New Brunswick highways for a swell of inexperienced drivers, says a transportation expert.
"More motorcycles on the roads means more accidents and more fatalities," said Eric Hildebrand, a civil engineering professor and co-ordinator of the University of New Brunswick's transportation group, a multi-disciplinary research program.
The popularity of motorcycles is on the rise with sales more than tripling in recent years, according to a research paper authored by Hildebrand.
He said government has done little during this time to safeguard new motorcyclists, adding programs like graduated licences would help save lives.
Transport Canada data suggests that motorcyclists constitute 7.6 per cent of all road deaths.
Meanwhile, motorcycles and scooters make up about one per cent of Canada's 42-million registered vehicles.
In a collision, a motorcyclist is four times more likely to be injured and 14 times more likely to be killed than the occupant of a vehicle, according to data from the Traffic Injury Research Council.
Hildebrand said rules for new motorcyclists should mirror those for novice drivers, including passenger restrictions, limited highway access, and no driving after dark.
He said insurance incentives for safety training, smaller engine requirements, and mandatory training courses would also help reduce accidents.
Hildebrand said the fastest growing segment of motorcycle fatalities is among the 45 to 64 year old age group.
Most are first-time motorcyclists who operate bikes with larger, more powerful engines, said Hildebrand.
Bikers under 25 years old also have a greater propensity to crash, he said.
Hildebrand said the motorcycle death of former Moncton Wildcat and Vancouver Canucks prospect Luc Bourdon on the Acadian peninsula in May punctuates the need for more restrictions on new riders.
"That's exactly the kind of thing that a graduated system applied to motorcycles may have prevented," he said.
"To me it's a no-brainer when you look at the statistics and the overrepresentation of young drivers on motorcycles that crash."
Chrystiane Mallaley, a spokeswoman with the Department of Public Safety, said government has identified priority areas for road safety to reduce highway fatalities, including seatbelt use, impaired driving, and speeding.
Graduated licensing for motorcyclists is not among them, she said.
Raynald Marchand, general manager of programs at Canada Safety Council, said it's impossible to compare cars to motorcycles.
He said most novice drivers are getting behind the wheel for the first time while many novice motorcyclists have been driving for decades.
"They know what a stop sign looks like," he said. "It isn't the same."
Marchand, who has been riding motorcycles for 35 years, said financial incentives such as less expensive insurance following the completion of a safety course would help more than a graduated licence program.
He said safety courses that allow new motorcyclists to take a licensing examination onsite have been successful in Nova Scotia.
"We see that as good incentive to get people into the system and learn things properly," he said.
Marchand said the plan would encourage new motorcyclists to take on more training while allowing riders to gain valuable experience on the road.
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