Tasmania’s beautiful and scenic roads are a major attraction for motorcyclists from around Australia and the world, but being unfamiliar with our roads can cause injury or even death.
That is why the majority Hodgman Liberal Government is partnering with the Spirit of Tasmania, the motorcycle community, Road Safety Advisory Council and local tourism providers to educate visiting riders about the key points of staying safe on Tasmanian roads.
Our vision is for Tasmania to be recognised as a world-leading destination of choice for motorcyclists taking advantage of our quiet, yet challenging roads and enjoying our award winning scenery and produce.
Unfortunately motorcyclists are over-represented in crash statistics with almost 250 visiting riders involved in crashes in the past five years, largely because they are unfamiliar with our challenging terrain and changeable conditions. Worse still, there have been seven deaths.
Compared to Tasmanian motorcyclists, visitors are not as familiar with our roads and they have a higher proportion of crashes involving running off the road, especially on corners. Fatigue and resulting inattention may also be contributing factors to crashes.
Two new motorcycling safety films are now targeting visiting motorcyclists as they make their way across Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania.
The short films feature well-known adventurer and motorcycling guru Charley Boorman and Tasmanian motorcyclist and Tasmanian Fire Service Regional Chief Jeff Harper, sharing their experiences on their bikes and how to stay safe.
Information is also provided by an informative webpage and promoted through our partners’ social media networks, our network of visitor information centres and in Tasmanian Motorcycle Travel Guides.
The Hodgman Liberal Government has set a bold target of 1.5 million tourists by 2020 and we know that motorcyclists spend more time in regional Tasmania. This campaign is just one way we are trying to keep both Tasmanians and our visitors safe on our roads.
View to videos at www.rsac.tas.gov.au/visitingdrivers
Our targets for tourism and infrastructure include:
- Grow our tourism industry to 1.5 million visitors per year by 2020
- 50,000 tourism-related jobs by 2022
- A 50% increase in the average per visitor spend by 2022
- 70% of all visitors to stay overnight in regional areas during their trip to Tasmania by 2022
- Bring all Tasmania’s primary freight and passenger roads up to a minimum three-star AusRAP safety rating by 2040
See all our targets at: https://www.tas.liberal.org.au/sites/default/files/BuildingYourFuture.pdf
