Motorcyclists urged to take care on roads
Ten motorcyclists have died on Waikato roads this year in what police say is a ‘‘disturbingly’’ high number.
A motorcycle crash on Monday in Te Uku, near Raglan, left one person dead, bringing the deaths in the region to 10.
Nationally, there have been 54 deaths, the highest it has been in the past five years.
Normally in Waikato there would be about three to five motorcyclist deaths a year, road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said.
He said 10 deaths was ‘‘disturbing’’. ‘‘That’s double what we would normally expect to see in a year and more concerning is that while I can’t comment on culpability, that’s [for the] Coroner, to date no charges have been laid in any of the matters.’’
He said six of the riders collided with other road users, three left the road without any other vehicle involved and one was a crash at an intersection.
What was also disturbing for police was the number of riders who died over the age of 50, he said. As a motorbike rider over the age of 50 himself, Penno said he had credibility speaking on the topic, and he urged others to accept they were older than they were last time they got on a bike.
‘‘If you’re a returning rider the motorcycle you have got is probably significantly more powerful than it was years ago.
‘‘There’s a lot more traffic on our network . . . and fatigue will be a bigger issue for you than it was in the past.’’
Saying ‘‘10 deaths’’ did not even begin to describe the tragedy and pain behind each of those fatal crashes, Penno said.
‘‘No one gets on a motorcycle thinking they won’t come home. No one goes out intending to crash, but there’s plenty of evidence people are.
‘‘Those were people going out . . . their passion is riding, and they have been for a ride and not come home. On the face of it, it’s up to the motorcycle driver to look in the mirror and reflect on [their] driving.’’