Bikers ready to rumble at ACC levy

Motorcycle campaigners ready at Auckland Domain for today's ride. Photo / Chris Gorman

Motorcyclists revving up for a mass rally at Parliament at noon tomorrow fear crippling accident-compensation levy rises will force some to scrimp on safety gear and courses.

Hundreds of bikers are expected to roar off from Whangarei and Auckland this morning for a two-day "Damn the Levies" protest ride to the capital.

Police expect the number to swell to 3500 as they are joined by others along the way and from the South Island.

They have arranged parking at Westpac Stadium so the bikers can walk the final leg to the steps of Parliament.

Police are also providing escorts from Porirua and Lower Hutt but warn of delays for other traffic.

Several regional protest rallies were held around the country at the weekend, including one attended by several hundred bikers at Auckland Domain on Saturday after mass rides along three motorways.

Some wore signs declaring themselves "easy targets" for proposed accident compensation changes, while suggesting others may be picked off later.

But although the motorcyclists are angry about being singled out for annual levy rises of between $198 for mopeds and $493 for 600cc-plus machines, the Bikers Rights Organisation reports growing public support for their cause.

"Many of the general public are really affronted - they see it as just the thin edge of the wedge to a wholesale decimation of the ACC scheme," Auckland branch president Les Mason said yesterday. "If they can get away with it with motorcyclists, who's next?"

Although nobody disputes that motorcyclists are more likely to be involved in crashes than other road users, Mr Mason said most responsible riders invested heavily in "armoured" clothing and courses aimed at making themselves as safe as possible.

"Motorcyclists are uncommon among road users in actively going out and seeking courses," he said.

Yet he and others preparing for this morning's getaway fear some may be forced to scrimp on safety investment to pay for the proposed levy rises.

Robert Powell took safety seriously when he returned to motorcycling about two and a half years ago on a 1200cc machine, investing more than $3000 in protective clothing and putting himself through four training courses.

"It's the responsible thing to do if you've got a family," said the Air Force airman.

"But if we have to pay more ACC a lot of people won't be able to afford decent gear and helmets, which need to be replaced every five years - we feel pretty victimised by what ACC are doing."

Mr Mason said that if the Accident Compensation Corporation was serious about improving motorcycle safety, it should invest more in courses such as one run by his organisation, with volunteers operating "on the smell of oily rag".

Motorcycling music teacher Dawn Louman said television safety advertising was silent on a need to remind car drivers to be aware of other road users.

She said she and her husband, Rik, took up motorcycling about three years ago as an activity they could enjoy as a family with their teenage son but feared the extra levies would make it too expensive.

The couple face paying up to $1700 a year in registration and insurance fees for each of their 650cc bikes, as well as extra for their son's 250cc machine, and Mr Louman said that would negate the fuel savings he enjoyed from riding to work at the airport each day.

Mr Mason said the accident corporation's proposal to ramp up levies in accordance with the size of motorbikes was deeply flawed, and something it tried to introduce in 1993, drawing thousands of riders to a protest rally outside Parliament in that year.

Although the corporation says the cost of treating injuries suffered by riders of bikes bigger than 600cc is far higher than for smaller-capacity machines, the motorcyclists believe that is mainly because they tend to be those in higher income brackets, qualifying them for heftier earnings-related compensation.

"It is absurd to be introducing income bias into the system," Mr Mason said.

"If they do that they would have to apply the same logic for drivers of expensive new cars such as BMWs or Audis."