Survey brings bike warnings

The two motorbike fatalities in Northland so far this year and the shocking results of a motorbike safety survey have led one local campaigner to raise the alarm over rider visibility and the inadequate use of safety gear.

Of the 10 motorbike fatalities in New Zealand this year, two occurred in Northland.

The first fatality happened outside a rural Northland service station where a 20-year-old motorcyclist, Aaron Nigel Rudkin of Ruawai, died after colliding with another vehicle.

The crash took place in Jellicoe St in Ruawai, 30km southeast of Dargaville, just before 6pm on January 8.

The second death involved an English tourist on a motorcycle who crashed on Old Russell Rd on February 2. He later died in hospital.

Roadsafe Northland's co-ordinator Gillian Archer said the low number of motorcycle riders on Northland roads meant riders were often easily missed by drivers.

"If we had hundreds and hundreds of them and it was a predominant means of getting round they would be more visible."

She also said there had been an increase in the number of motorcycle and bike riders with unsecured helmets on Northland roads.

"The least part of your anatomy that you want to have damaged is your head and your brain.

"If it's not securely fastened and if it's not covering the front part of their [riders'] head, then it's not effective if they come off."

Her comments follow the release of new survey results which suggested more than half of New Zealand's motorcyclists disregarded basic safety rules, with scooter riders identified as the worst culprits.

The Motor Trade Association (MTA) survey, which observed almost 350 riders over the first half of the month, found 51 per cent of riders were on the road without ACC-recommended safety items such as gloves, trousers or jackets.

MTA spokesman Hamish Stuart said the survey results, which found gloves were the most commonly omitted piece of safety gear, were alarming.

A lack of appropriate leg and arm protection was the second most common breach identified.

"Bare skin and tarmac don't mix well," he warned.