The campaign has been developed in a partnership between the RTA’s NSW Centre for Road Safety and the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW, with considerable input from the Motorcycle Council of NSW.

The NSW Centre for Road Safety’s Dr Soames Job said an innovative and highly visual mail out to all 130,000 registered motorcycle owners in NSW was spearheading the campaign.

“This is being consolidated by a series of motorcycle magazine advertisements and billboard advertising until January 2008,” Dr Job said.

“The targeted campaign has been developed to tackle a type of crash that has become over-represented in fatal and serious injury crashes.

“There is a growing incidence of motorcycle riders crashing on corners - particularly on key recreational routes including the Old Pacific Highway, the Royal National Park, Macquarie Pass, the Alpine Way, Jenolan Caves Road, the Putty Road and the Oxley Highway.

“The compelling images used in the advertisements depict two possible paths a motorcycle rider could take when approaching a corner – graphically illustrating how the wrong set up on approach could lead to a crash on the corner.”

Motorcyclists are significantly over-represented in crashes on NSW roads, and are around 20 times more likely to be killed than car occupants. Around 60 motorcycle riders and passengers are killed and 2000 injured each year on NSW roads.

“That’s why it’s so important motorcyclists are educated about safe riding practices, particularly as almost half (41 per cent) of the motorcycle riders killed and injured on NSW roads are aged 17 to 29 years,” Dr Job said.

“Between 2002 and 2006, 51 per cent of all motorcycle fatalities (153 people) and 31 per cent of all motorcycle injuries (3267 people) occurred on corners.

“Nine out of ten motorcycle crashes on corners occur when the rider loses control and crashes into another vehicle on the opposite side of the road or leaves the road and hits an object such as a tree.”

Key campaign messages for riders include:

• Apply the brakes in anticipation of a corner.
• Position your bike to make sure you are out of the head-on zone when travelling around a corner.
• Change down to the appropriate gear to get into and out of a corner safely.

The campaign contributes to the Government’s State Plan target S7, to reduce the road toll.