John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowper, my friend and colleague, for bringing this motion before the parliament. Sadly, I begin with the obvious statement that at the present time there are no motorcycle-friendly crash barriers. If a motorcyclist collides with a crash barrier, the likelihood is that they will be killed or severely injured on the spot. Tragically, I have become aware of needless motorcycle fatalities in Australia, including in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, as a result of collisions with wire rope crash barriers. There was the accident that occurred a year ago on the Pacific Highway north of Taree, where a motorcyclist from Queensland collided with a wire rope crash barrier and had his leg amputated.

These days, crash barriers have been designed to reduce the severity of a crash when a car or truck leaves the carriageway. The welfare of a motorcyclist who collides with one of these barriers has not been considered. The road authorities that make the relevant decisions are usually indifferent to the needs of motorcyclists, and I believe that is because there is usually no motorcyclist representation on them. Furthermore, sometimes road authorities have been installing the wire rope barriers inappropriately or not according to the manufacturer's specifications, as lane separators or too close to the edge of the road—in which case they are not safe for any type of vehicle. For example, in such positions they can act as a slingshot to hurl the vehicle back into the traffic lane being used by other vehicles. Test footage available on YouTube or even from some manufacturers shows how this can happen.

The wire rope in the crash barrier usually consists of three to five ropes, each about 20 millimetres thick. The strands of the wire rope are much coarser than those used in winch cables. The wire ropes are under tension. The upper ropes pass through a hole at the top of the S-shaped supporting posts. The lower ropes are held in place by criss-crossing between the posts and are supported by pegs on the posts. Posts are spaced about two metres apart and the barriers are usually between 400 and 600 millimetres high.

Crash barriers can be classed into three types: concrete is classed as being rigid, Armco W-profile metal as semirigid and wire rope as flexible. Wire rope barriers, such as the one made by Brifen, seem to be effective in reducing the severity of crashes, as they absorb energy when cars or trucks hit them. The rigid barriers are less effective, as more of the energy of the impact is transmitted to the vehicle occupants, which results in greater injuries. This is why wire rope barriers are being installed instead of Armco or concrete barriers.

While the classifications of rigid, semirigid and flexible are relevant to car and truck crashes, they are meaningless in motorcycle impacts. Basically, there is no safe barrier for a motorcyclist because all barriers are rigid for motorcyclists. There has been little research into what constitutes a motorcycle-friendly barrier, nor how to make existing barriers less nasty in causing injury to motorcyclists. I am not aware of how or if motorcyclists are simulated in crash-testing. In fact, it seems that there are no real standards for crash-testing of barriers with regard to motorcyclists anywhere in the world. One research report, called Barriers to safety, was commissioned by the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales and can be downloaded from its website.

I believe that road authorities need to consider the needs of motorcyclists before installing crash barriers. These include: firstly, having no barrier at all in some places; secondly, placing the barrier as far away from the roadway as possible; and, thirdly, installing available products that make barriers less nasty. Funds need to be made available for research to determine what constitutes a motorcycle-friendly barrier, and the Australian Motorcycle Council should maintain its representation on the Standards Australia committee on crash barrier design. Motorcyclists have the right to use roads that are made safe to use for the most vulnerable road user, the motorcyclist. Most roadside furniture has been designed for cars and trucks, while motorcyclist safety is not taken into account. It is time to address road safety for motorcyclists, and I commend my friend the member for Cowper for bringing this matter before the parliament.

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