Seen a scooter dressed in denim yet? Edward Rooney reports on a tailormade campaign for road safety.
Scooters in fancy dress are being rolled out around Auckland this week to highlight the need for protective clothing for riders.
ACC injury prevention consultant Ezra Talamahina says the campaign will raise the awareness about the risks and encourage scooter riders to "add an extra layer".
"We aren't asking them to wear full-on biker gear but simply to have no bare skin. For example, sneakers not jandals, jeans not shorts, a jacket not tee-shirt, and gloves. The group we are targeting is male and female scooter riders, aged 15 - 24 years."
Mr Talamahina says campaign activity will focus in areas where there are the most claims from accidents among scooter riders. The campaign will launch in Auckland this week then move to Palmerston North for the week of March 21, Wellington the following week and Hamilton for the week of April 4.
The most visible aspect of the campaign is scooters covered in colourful fabrics - tartan, spots, denim and stripes. "They will be ridden around and parked up in high pedestrian areas," Mr Talamahina says. "Our riders will hand out information with the key campaign messages.
Additionally, posters and bus ad shelters will be on display in different fabrics that people can touch will appear around high pedestrian or youth popular areas.
The key messages being pushed are: Just one layer of clothing protects your skin if you come off; if you come off even at low speeds, you will be injured; and you can reduce the seriousness of these injuries by covering all your skin.
Motorcycle injuries are the fastest growing injury category in the ACC Motor Vehicle account. The estimated number of ACC claims relating to scooters, and the associated annual costs, has increased more than six times over the last 10 years.
Just last year there were approximately 1000 new scooter claims and ACC paid $2.6 million to support injured scooter riders.
Some other fast facts:
- Many scooter riders wear no or a minimal amount of protective clothing
- Around half of all injured riders have injuries to their legs
- Your jeans might rip but at least they give more protection than bare legs
- One in five of all injuries are to the arm
- A jacket reduces the severity of an injury in 75 per cent of crashes
- Grazes, abrasions and broken bones are common
- The most common time for injuries to riders is Monday to Friday during commuter periods
- The most common type of crash is at intersections in urban areas.
More info, see www.scootersurvival.co.nz
