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Nincompoops
Not only is a front numberplate going to look ugly, but it’s going to cost $32.1 million. Oh what a glorious waste, says GUIDO…
Pic: this is going to look just great with a numberplate plastered across its snout. |
If ever you needed proof that far too many people in government have far too much time on their hands, the imminent national introduction of front numberplates for motorcycles has to be perfect. And yes, I did say national.
As the news story in this issue says, while the idea has been pursued by Vic Roads, it’s being done at the behest of a national council transport ministers, and all the figures have been based on a national introduction.
Let me begin by saying the whole scheme is anal-retentive garbage and a clear example of why an employment cull should be conducted through the halls of government.
The argument for this scheme is it will make motorcyclists slow down and therefore less will be killed or injured. Admirable on the face of it, but damn near impossible to prove with any reliability, and ignores the debate over whether this is the best way of going about saving lives.
According to the Vic Roads draft report, the scheme will cost $22.1 million to introduce, and its expected a further $10 million will be spent on an ‘education’ campaign – now that’s a propaganda budget even Joseph Goebbels would have been proud of.
While the government numbers claim there is a significantly greater benefit, it nevertheless raises the question of whether it’s a sensible use of money. Frankly I would have thought pulling up the murderous wire-rope barriers infesting our roads – these are proven killers – would have been far more productive.
Frankly, we’re wasting an enormous amount of money and energy on something that really isn’t broken. The whole underpinning of this scheme is based on the idea that motorcycles escape a lot of speed camera penalties. While this is true, the actual numbers are insignificant.
The Vic police proudly trotted out the figure of 3000 per annum a few years ago, which sounds like a lot. Until you realise that 97,000 vehicles in total skip penalties because the plates could not be read. So the bike percentage is minimal.
Oh, and if you analyse it, 3000 could be accounted for by around seven riders ignoring front-facing speed cameras on their daily ride to and from work. Really. Do the math.
In the meantime, the owners of around 540,000 registered bikes in this country are going to have to stuff around fiddling with front plates which, in many cases, will be damn near impossible to fit satisfactorily because no-one designs bikes to take them.
What staggers me, is people are already being booked for piffling indiscretions – Spannerman got done for 5km/h over the limit, in a 100 zone, recently – but apparently this isn’t enough. No, we have keep gouging deeper and deeper because it’s an easy path to follow.
There’s clearly an argument for law enforcement on the roads, but this ever-increasing concentration on surveillance and punishment, to the point where you feel you’re being watched the minute you leave home, is getting out of control. At what point did we agree as a society that it was okay to be placed under constant scrutiny?
Of course the old counter argument is that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. Which is rubbish. Governments and enforcement bodies get it wrong on a daily basis. Victoria’s own auto speed camera system has been caught out badly in the past, and undoubtedly will again.
And frankly, it’s about time these people got their hands out of our wallets. In Vic, the government some years ago introduced a motorcycle tax in the name of safety. One of the justifications for it was it would give riders a say in their own destiny, which has been proven to be comprehensively wrong, time and time again. It was just another honey pot for hokey ‘research’ and dreamt-up schemes.
This time, nationally, riders will be hit for the cost of these wonderful new life-saving front numberplates. That’s right, you’ll wear it. The assorted state governments will subsidise the initial roll-out, but from 2010-on, you’ll bear the cost.
These nincompoops need to get their fingers out of our pockets and move on to some real issues…
You’re always welcome to get in touch via the palatial MT offices at locked bag 12, Oakleigh 3166; Or on the wire via guy.allen@traderclassifieds.com.au.
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