Motorcycle safety plea

Death prompts call for more road education

THE death of a Launceston motorcyclist on a windy rural road has prompted calls for greater bike safety awareness.

A 58- year- old man was killed on Monday afternoon when his Yamaha motorcycle collided with a Nissan X- Trail being driven by a Queensland man on Bothwell’s Hollow Tree Rd in the state’s Central Highlands.

Police said it appeared the motorcyclist failed to negotiate a left- hand bend and travelled on to the opposite side of the road, colliding with the 4WD.

“The driver of the Nissan has taken evasive action to avoid the motorcycle but was unable to avoid a collision,” Inspector Philippa Burk said.

“The 49- year- old driver of the Nissan and his front- seat female passenger, aged 51 and also from Queensland, were not injured.”

The death on the road follows a string of serious crashes there in recent years, including a 2018 crash where a threeyear- old girl sustained serious head injuries.

Last year, the Central Highlands Council received funding to upgrade the condition of the road after a safety audit involving state government officials, council staff and Tasmania Police identified improvement areas.

Paul Bullock of the Tasmanian Motorcycle Council — which did not attend the government audit workshop — said the motorcycle association conducted its own audit of the road, which found “a lot of treatments needed”.

That report concluded shoulder sealing was required on most of the road, culverts close to the road needed addressing and there was no consistency in placement of guide posts, which were too close to the road.

Mr Bullock on Tuesday said more motorcycle safety awareness was needed. “We’re disappointed there has been zero motor safety advertising across Tasmania over the past year,” he said.

“The motorcycle council has applied … to be able to do safety messages on television and other platforms — we were unlucky in that application.”

A spokesman for State Growth Department said $ 200,000 roadworks had begun on Hollow Tree Rd to reduce the likelihood of crashes by extending pavement seal on the outside of curves, preventing gravel on the road, and improved warning signage.

“We have also implemented a significant enhancement to the training motorcyclists must undergo … and ongoing media and education campaigns to increase the level of awareness in the general and motorcycle communities of the vulnerability of motorcyclists,” he said.