ABOLISH THE VICTORIAN MOTORCYCLE SAFETY LEVY - A ROAD SAFETY REPORT

[ruSTynutz]

As our Victorian members would possibly know, a "road safety tax", (currently $78.10) forms part of our motorcycle registration costs in Victoria.
This "tax" is discriminatory towards motorcyclists as can be shown in the following report.

A SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
 
This report illustrates why the Victorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Motorcycle Safety Levy (MSL) may be seen as discriminatory, inequitable, mismanaged and a wrong approach to road safety. It is sometimes said owners of other vehicles subsidise the cost of TAC motorcycle accident claims, however this report will show, when the cost of motorcycle accidents caused by drivers are considered, the cost of compensation and medical bills (pa) paid by the TAC for motorcycle rider at fault claims are less than funds collected from riders via the TAC charge and the MSL. The reality is almost half of all accidents involving a motorcycle are the fault of drivers. It is therefore discriminatory, inequitable and illogical that motorcycle riders are expected to cover the costs of accidents caused by the negligence of drivers.
 
The MSL was introduced in 2002 for motorcycles with an engine capacity of 126cc or greater, supposedly “in recognition of the vulnerability of motorcyclists and their overrepresentation in road trauma statistics”.
This was seen by many motorcycle road safety advocates as inappropriate, because the “over-representation” is not due solely to the fault of riders, but to an almost equal extent the drivers of other vehicles.
The MSL is therefore a discriminatory and inequitable surcharge on motorcycle riders, operating with a blame the victims, rather than the perpetrators approach.
Concerns have been raised not only regarding the discriminatory and inequitable nature of the MSL, but also how it has in many ways been mismanaged and cannot be quantified as having improved motorcycle rider safety, as today motorcycle rider injuries and fatalities are much the same as when the MSL was first introduced and during the last decade can be seen to have increased.
 
It has been reported, including in the 2012 Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety (PIMS), how  the MSL has been mismanaged, how some projects have lacked evaluation measures and performance indicators, how funds have illegitimately been used for enforcement projects and to pay for operational enforcements costs, this contrary to the Strategic Guide for expenditure of the motorcycle safety levy funding (which outlines how MSL funds may be spent).
Concerns have also been raised regarding the transparency of financial reporting, in particular for MSL expenditures, all leading to the recommendations from the 2012 Victorian Parliamentary Road Safety Committee, that the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office undertake a performance audit of all projects funded by the MSL and the levy be abolished.   
 
The PIMS recommendation to abolish the MSL was however rejected in the whole of government response prepared by the Victorian road safety partner agencies, some of who the PIMS report identified as being responsible for many of the concerns appertaining to the operation and management of the MSL. Such concerns including how millions of dollars collected from motorcycle riders via the MSL remain unused and have not in any way been used to achieve the purpose of improving motorcycle rider safety. This report shows why the MSL is discriminatory, inequitable, mismanaged, ineffective and unrequired.


For those that have an interest, you can download the full report by clicking the link below:

ABOLISH THE VICTORIAN MOTORCYCLE SAFETY LEVY
                     By Stephen Bardsley
        MBA, GradDipBA, GradCertBA, DipElecEng

[Williamson]

Interesting!

Have you read, even skimmed, through the report yet?  If you have, perhaps some more choice tid bits.  I don't currently have time ATM, perhaps later.  However, what I did notice is on page 10 $126,000,000 dollars has been collected from motorcycle riders since the introduction of the MSL in 2002.

Like or loath the levy and/or whether (or not) the matters of it being discriminatory, inequitable, mismanaged and a wrong approach to road safety (from the above extract) are matters of fact, fiction or somewhere in between, it probably won't really matter.  With the current State debt, it's highly unlikely that with the current Government addiction to taxes and levies, that the levy will cease.  And even if is ceased, they (current and future governments) will only work out another way to get their hands into our pockets.

[ruSTynutz]

Have you read, even skimmed, through the report yet?  If you have, perhaps some more choice tid bits.

That summary I posted was lifted straight from the report but honestly, the report really isn't that long so it would be better just to read it in full.
If that's too hard, have a read of pages 16 & 17, they contain the "conclusions" and "recommendations". 

Like or loath the levy and/or whether (or not) the matters of it being discriminatory, inequitable, mismanaged and a wrong approach to road safety (from the above extract) are matters of fact, fiction or somewhere in between, it probably won't really matter.  With the current State debt, it's highly unlikely that with the current Government addiction to taxes and levies, that the levy will cease.  And even if is ceased, they (current and future governments) will only work out another way to get their hands into our pockets.

I honestly don't expect Labor or the LIbs, (assuming they get back in next election) to abolish the levy.
Years ago the Libs promised to get rid of it if they got into power but of course they conveniently forgot that promise once they got in. 

[ruSTynutz]

If that's too hard, have a read of pages 16 & 17, they contain the "conclusions" and "recommendations". 

I can post those, I guess...if anyone is interested...

[Dragonstaff]

Once a government gets a taste of an income stream, it is bloody hard to get them to let it go.

Worse than a Staffy with a marrow bone.

Edit: I noticed Biggles hit his 14,000th post in my 'shed' thread, and then noticed that this is my 400th.