By JESSE GRAHAM
SAFE riding in the lead-up to summer is being encouraged by Healesville Police, with riders warned of a blitz in high-risk areas to try and keep crash numbers down.
Healesville Police Sergeant, Stewart Thomson, told the Mail that police would be running operations in November in the areas around Chum Creek, targeting motorcyclists flaunting the law.
The operation comes after VicRoads dropped the speed limit along most of Chum Creek Road to 60 kilometres per hour, and a number of serious crashes along the road involving motorcyclists.
“The most recent airlift was a 43-year-old man from Puckapunyal, airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious injuries,” Sgt Thomson said.
He said the man came off his motorbike on a corner, after “grabbing a handful” of his front brake to slow down around the road’s tight corners.
“The only reason he’s not dead was because of luck – there were two killer trees, he went between them,” Sgt Thomson said.
“It just wasn’t his time.”
He said the road was notoriously bad for motorcyclists, with different surfaces, gravel over the roads, tight or hairpin turns and truck traffic.
“People like to come up and they like to do their laps up Myers Creek Road and Chum Creek Road, but the conditions are always changing,” he said.
“If you come off, it’s unforgiving.”
The operation will involve police checking riders’ speeds, prosecuting bad driver behaviour, testing for drugs and alcohol and checking the roadworthiness of motorbikes, and would extend to areas such as the Black Spur – a much-used route for motorcycles.
“If you’ve got a bike, there’s every chance your speed is going to be measured on Chum Creek Road or Myers Creek Road, and your motorbike is going to be checked for compliance,” Sgt Thomson said.
“We don’t want anyone killed or seriously injured in our area, when it’s completely preventable.”
He said police were also asking riders to make an “honest assessment” of their riding ability, especially when travelling on unknown roads, and to take riding courses if they feel their skills were lacking.
That assessment, Sgt Thomson said, should also factor in alcohol consumption, and whether it will impact riders’ ability to monitor road conditions quickly.
“If you’re going out for a ride, your first and foremost job is to come home safely, and you should have in your mind that you will do everything possible to ensure that you get home to your family,” he said.
“In my opinion, that does not include stopping for lunch and alcohol – you don’t want to do anything to suppress your reaction, you need to be on your game.
“There’s no room for error.”
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol Leading Senior Constable (LSC), Scott Lardner, told the Mail earlier this year that a motorcyclist travelling over 30km/h involved in a crash could expect serious injuries.
Sgt Thomson agreed with LSC Lardner, and said not wearing proper equipment could add more damage to a potentially life-threatening situation.
“If you come off of a bike at 30km/h, and you’re not wearing protective equipment, we’re talking skin grafts, grazes, breaks, stitches – massive injury,” he said.
Though he said police would make “no apologies” about targeting motorcyclists doing the wrong thing, Sgt Thomson said that Victoria Police was not anti-motorbikes, but concerned for safety.
“We’re not anti-bikes at all,” he said.
“We encourage it, we just encourage the safe operation of it.”
The operation will be conducted in the lead-up to summer, when Victoria Police’s annual Summer Stay operations will also begin, targeting different driver behaviours from late November to early January.
