| New Motorcycle Licencing Restrictions for Queensland |
| June 21, 2009, 12:10pm by Rookie ROX |
From 1 July 2009, Queensland will introduce a new licencing scheme for novice motorcycle riders. This system has recognised that modern motorcycles are becoming more powerful whilst still remaining legal under the current laws. The new scheme hopes to increase rider training and improve the safety of riders following their significant contribution to the State and Nation's road toll. The new scheme will bring Queensland in line with other States and Territories across Australia.
The Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) will include multiple changes, with the most significant being a move to restrict novice motorcycle riders on a RE Motorcycle Licence to a combination of both power-to-weight ratios and engine capacity restrictions. This will subsequently scrap the existing legislation that limits RE licence holders from riding anything with a engine capacity greater than 250mL.
Class RE licence holders will only be allowed to ride motorcycles that are deemed LAMS approved. Approved motorcycles will have;- A maximum power-to-weight ratio of 150kw per tonne and;
- A maximum engine capacity of 660mL.
This will subsequently provide RE licence holders with a larger range of motorcycles, but with limits more appropriate for new riders. A list of these motorcycles is available from Queensland Transport, and approved motorcycles will be marked with a LAMS approved indicator on the registration label. It remains the requirement of the rider to ensure the motorcycle is legal for them to ride.
Other changes to the motorcycle licencing system includes a restriction on the carrying of pillion passengers by class RE Learner licence holders, and the displaying of P plates. RE Learner licence holders will not be allowed to carry any pillion passengers whilst on their learners, but will still be required to be supervised when riding. This can either be done by a supervisor following on another motorcycle, in a car or in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle. The requirement for the supervisor to hold a an Open R or RE licence for longer than 1 year remains. P1 or P2 licence holders with a class RE licence will also be required to display red P1 or green P2 plates (as appropriate) on their motorcycle as they would do on a car. Displaying of L plates (or L vest) by RE Learners will remain a requirement. This continues to provide motorists with the ability to identify new riders.
Full details are available from the Queensland Transport website - http://www.transport.qld.gov.au
R~R
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| Police receive new unmarked vehicles |
| January 29, 2009, 1:18am by PyrotiX |
 ANY car on the road could now be a cop car, thanks to new police initiatives to combat hoons and law breakers. Highway patrol officers have used unmarked police cars for years. But the latest scheme sees a range of high performance sports vehicles including a Volkswagen Golf GTI and a Hummer H3 patrolling the streets.
The vehicles are fitted with the latest accessories and are in a range of colours - some even sporting “P” plates - to fit in with vehicles commonly associated with car hoons. Police Traffic Services Commander Chief Superintendent John Hartley said the scheme was part of a ploy to “blend in”.
“What we find is people don’t pick them as police cars and it’s easier to pick offences like speeding, using a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelts.”
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| Share My Story |
| January 22, 2009, 10:18pm by Rookie ROX |
 In line with the Queensland Government's initiative of 'Campaign 300', the campaign to keep the road toll for 2009 under the 300 mark, Queensland Transport has released a new website entitled 'Share My Story'.
'Share My Story' provides the general public to provide their own story and experiences of road trauma, be it as a family member who has lost a loved one, a person who has survived a road crash or a professional who deals with it day to day. This is similar to the campaign run in 2008 by Victoria's TAC entitled 'Pictures of You', telling the stories of persons affected by road crashes. As stated by Transport Minister John Mickel;
"The message is simple - if not for yourself, then for your loved ones, go online, share your story and help send the message of safe driving to all Queensland road users.
"Everyone can do their bit to help prevent more lives being needlessly lost on our roads...The campaign deals with the impact of the road toll on people and families. It is based on reaching drivers through people sharing their experiences online - in turn influencing the attitudes and driving behaviours of others.
Mr Mickel said most of the carnage resultant from road crashes was preventable, and that each and every road user has some responsibility for their own behaviour on the road to reduce these risks.
"We can be trapped into thinking of the road toll as just a statistic, something impersonal and removed from our own lives.
"It is anything but impersonal. Road deaths have a shocking effect on those left behind and those left to pick up the pieces." he said
It is hoped by Roadsmart that this new initiative can assist in changing the attitude of driver's who fail to think about the consequences of their actions before they occur. Roadsmart completely supports Queensland Transport's decision to move into a medium other than the highly popular fear arousal campaigns, of which makes little impact on the younger generations.
'Share My Story' can be viewed at http://www.sharemystory.qld.gov.au
The 'Pictures of You' campaign can still be viewed at http://www.picturesofyou.com.au
R~R
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| Hoon drag racers arrested |
| January 20, 2009, 12:29pm by PyrotiX |
 Two hoons with a death wish, have been arrested after street racing in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. One of them, a 19 year old P-Plater, was driving a Commodore, or what was left of it. A 25 year old disqualified driver was behind the wheel of the other car. They were caught after complaints from locals.
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| Queensland Increases Penalties by 33% |
| November 11, 2008, 8:50pm by Rookie ROX |
From January 1 2009, Queenslanders will be digging deeper to pay for their offences following a 33% increase in penalties state-wide.
The Queensland Government announced that under changes to the Penalties and Sentencing Act 1992 the amount of a single penalty unit will increase from $75 to $100. This means a subsequent rise in all offence penalties, with the most noticeable area being traffic fines.
It has been estimated that this will bring in an extra $70 million a year in revenue. Despite criticisms regarding the move being a blatant revenue raising tactic however, the increased money will go towards improving general road safety through areas such as;- Road safety education and awareness campaigns
- Improving blackspot areas on state roads
- Increasing the number of traffic police and police motorcycles
- Purchasing new handheld LIDAR and mobile speed cameras
The announcement also revealed that Queensland Police will start trialling the use of new unmarked mobile speed cameras in conjunction with the current marked mobile cameras. Roadsmart will endeavour to establish the types of new cameras that will trialled, however is wary of the use of covert cameras due to their higher likelihood of arguments for revenue raising and detraction for their true road safety intentions.
R~R
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| Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) |
| October 3, 2008, 12:52pm by PyrotiX |
 CRIMTRAC's planned automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system could become a mass surveillance system, taking as many as 70 million photos of cars and drivers every day across a vast network of roadside cameras. State and federal police forces want full-frontal images of vehicles, including the driver and front passenger, that are clear enough for identification purposes and usable as evidence in court.
"All vehicles passing through a fixed or mobile ANPR camera will have the data recorded and available for interrogation," CrimTrac told the Queensland TravelSafe inquiry into the use of ANPR for road safety. "Existing camera applications, such as Safe-T-Cam, red light and speed cameras could be upgraded where necessary to provide constant live streaming to a central database. "National connectivity would be achieved through secure digital networks for fixed cameras. Law enforcement agencies would also use mobile units."
"CrimTrac has told us there will be 5000 cameras around the country, overwhelmingly in populated areas, taking some 70 million photos every day. There'll be maybe 1000 cameras in downtown Sydney, close to that number in Melbourne, perhaps 100 or so in Brisbane."
Click here to learn more about how ANPR works in Australia.
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| No one thinks big of me? |
| August 24, 2008, 2:37pm by PyrotiX |
 YOUNG male drivers will be hit below the belt as Queensland looks for a novel approach to reduce the state's soaring road toll. The State Government is expected to take up the successful "pinkie" campaign, which mocks the manhood of young blokes acting like hoons behind the wheel of their car.
The New South Wales anti-speeding campaign has led to a significant reduction in fatalities and the number of deaths from P-plate driver crashes. The television ads display the message: "Speeding. No one thinks big of you." One vignette shows a grandmother doing the pinkie sign as a woman is almost run down by a leadfoot; another features two young women bending their little fingers at a young hoon driver; while the third has the driver's backseat mates mocking him after almost spinning out.
Click here to read more..
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| More Fixed Speed Cameras for Queensland |
| July 1, 2008, 8:46pm by Rookie ROX |
 Queensland will soon be joining its southern counterparts with the announcement of more fixed speed cameras by Police Minister Judy Spence.
The State Government will be upgrading and increasing the current number of red light cameras to digital technology. The cameras will also double as fixed speed cameras. This means the cameras will not only be able to record persons who run red lights, but also catch persons speeding through intersections on green or amber lights. Ms Spence said the first cameras will be introduced next year.
Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Martin said the loss of lives on Queensland roads was "very disappointing".
"Drivers are not heeding some very simple advice to wear seatbelts, not to drink-drive or speed, and not to drive when fatigued," he said
This comes however with the current road toll considerably less than the same time last year.
Whilst the announcement will undoubtedly cause discontent among motorists as the revenue raising debate once again rages, Roadsmart however hopes the Government;- Maintains current mobile camera guidelines restricting the placement of cameras in known blackspots.
- Continues the current scheme of empty camera boxes and camera rotation at intersections.
- Ensures the location of all cameras are signed so as to ensure revenue is not an apparent motive.
- Continues policing measures targetting other anti-social behaviours such as drink and drug driving.
- Continues the use of proactive road safety measures, rather than solely reactive measures.
Roadsmart and the NRMA however agree that a visible police presence will never be overshadowed as the greatest deterrent to anti-social driving behaviours.
R~R
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| QLD Confiscation Laws Statewide |
| June 29, 2008, 10:42am by PyrotiX |
 Car confiscation laws to tackle hooning will go state wide in Queensland from Tuesday after a trial saw nearly 1500 cars locked up. The Type 2 hoon laws target repeat offenders who are charged multiple times with one of five offences.
Offences include driving an unregistered or uninsured motor vehicle, driving while unlicensed, failing to supply a specimen of breath or blood, drink driving over 0.15 per cent and driving an illegally modified vehicle. Police Minister Judy Spence warned repeat offenders to beware.
"Flout the law and you could lose your vehicle for 48 hours for the first repeat offence, up to three months for a second (repeat) offence, or permanently for a third (repeat) offence," she said. Ms Spence said the laws would help identify areas where a high volume of people were repeatedly offending. "We've had it going in probably two of the busiest areas of the state (since July 2007) ... down at Logan City and the Gold Coast, which are particularly problematic areas."
Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said it was important to take irresponsible people off the roads as they contributed at a greater rate to the road toll and traffic crashes. "With three relatively young men killed overnight, one only 18 years of age, we've now lost 152 people on the road so far this year," he said.
"About 90 per cent of the people (who have had their car confiscated) so far on this trial, did not have a licence or were disqualified, and we think that this is very significant." Ms Spence said it could cost as much as $255 to get your car back after a 48 hour confiscation and thousands of dollars in fees if vehicles were held in storage for months. "What we've found is that a lot of these cars are not being retrieved because the cars are bombs and owners don't want to pay the money to get them back," Ms Spence said.
As a result, Ms Spence said the Type 2 hoon laws were already benefiting students on the Gold Coast. "The Queensland Police Service is today donating two vehicles, seized under the new laws, to the Palm Beach Currumbin State High School," she said. "Students will work on the cars as part of their automotive classes."
Want to know more? See 'Queensland Vehicle Impoundment'
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| QLD Introduces Cumulative Disqualification |
| June 1, 2008, 8:50pm by PyrotiX |
 The cumulative period of disqualification applies to persons in Queensland convicted of more than 1 drink or drug driving related offence committed after May 18th 2008.
A cumulative period of disqualification is the sum of each period of a disqualification that has been imposed by a court on a person convicted of a number of drink or drug driving related offences. The person will be required to serve each period in its own entirety, one after the other in the order that they were imposed.
To learn more about cumulative disqualification, click here
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