South Australian authorities are urging all road users to be extra vigilant following a string of fatal crashes involving motorbike riders. Since Christmas, four motorcyclists have been killed in separate incidents across the state with the latest crash resulting in a driver being charged with dangerous driving.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Another tragic accident on SA's roads just one week into the new year.
00:09This is the aftermath of a horrific crash which claimed the life of a 58-year-old man.
00:15This is just another reminder with the second road fatality in the first week of the new year
00:21that we need to be extra vigilant on our roads and it's incumbent on all road users to drive as safely
00:26or use the roads as safely as possible.
00:28Police say a car travelling on South Road crashed through a fence and into the path of the motorbike.
00:34They've since charged a 44-year-old man with causing death by dangerous driving.
00:40It's the latest in a spate of crashes involving motorcyclists
00:44after three riders were killed within days of one another in late December.
00:50We have a dedicated media campaign that is targeting motorcycle riders
00:54to ensure that they understand the risks associated with this
00:58which is often a recreational activity for some people, not simply commuting.
01:01The RAA says over the last five years, motorcyclists have been involved in around 20% of the lives lost on roads.
01:10They only represent 3.5% of the number of registered vehicles on our roads
01:15so that highlights the big disparity and the vulnerability of them as well.
01:19Last month new safety measures came into effect in South Australia
01:23which doubled the amount of training motorcyclists must undertake to obtain a licence.
01:28But police say it's still too early to tell whether those changes will increase road safety.
01:33We'll have to wait and see what the impact of that enhanced training provides
01:37in terms of elevating people's capability and understanding of safe road use on motorcycles.
01:43Obviously it's a point of ongoing concern
01:47and it's something that we need to think seriously about as we go into 2025
01:51about what we can collectively do to try and address this long-standing issue.