NSW: ah yes kiddos, things are in a right old mess up here in the ‘rum, buggery and the lash’ state. Politically speaking that is. We’ve got the on-going mess we loosely call City Rail, the desalination cock-up, a budget with more bits hanging out of it than an octogenarian’s underpants… and that’s just the half of it.
You need a real gift for stuffing things up to have managed the scale of the stuff-up we’ve got happening here. (Kind of makes you proud, in a twisted sort of way.)
That’s why we’ve got the new bloke, Premier Whatsisname… and a few new Ministers… ah… names escape me. No matter. The point is kiddos, as I was saying to the gorgeous Dolores (she of the ‘kitchen sciences’) just a few moments ago, when you let a whole lot of barking mad ideas off the leash, you just don’t know where it will end. (Trust me, they’ll be showing their arses from the windows for the next ten years – that’s how the system works.)
Which – now pay attention here – which is why it is so bleeding surprising that there has been a sudden outbreak of smarts in the thorny old matter of motorcycle and scooter licencing. In NSW… now who would ever have thunk it? Not me.
Fortunately, the outbreak appears to be safely confined to the NSW RTA, so no need for panic. It must be something they’re eating. (”Hey, these things taste like rabbit shit…” “See, you’re getting smarter already.”)
Normally, mention the word ‘motorcycle’ to a regulator, and they’ll fall on the floor frothing at the mouth. So, believe me, I’m as surprised as you are in reporting this (and ‘the Dirk’ is not easily surprised), but the big news of the moment is that the NSW RTA has increased the cc capacity for automatic exemption from the Scooter License course.
Effective immediately.
Look, it’s here in black and white, and I quote (from the Australian Scooter Federation): “The NSW RTA has increased the capacity from 125cc to 160cc for exemption from the pre-provisional course for automatic motorcycles and scooters. Riders of scooters less than 160cc will still need to attend and pass the pre-learner course (7 hours held over 2 days) and the Motorcycle Operator Skills Test or MOST (1 hour). However they will not be required to attend the 6 hour pre-provisional course immediately prior to the MOST.” End quote.
You can pass it on to the cave rats at home.
Check out the new rules on the RTA’s website.
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Fark I hate scooters.
Charlie, you’d be an uneducated man then?
I’m fine with scooters, it’s the numbskull bodies attached to most of them that annoy me.
Ok so it’s a little bit OT, but yesterday there was a motorcycle accident on the corner of Epping and Pittwater roads at about 5pm, that had Epping Rd Citybound closed for at least an hour and traffic delays for several hours. Driving home on Pittwater road some hours later, traffic was still at a crawl. And yet, I had several bikes pass me around blind corners and weaving in between other cars.
I know, I know it’s not every biker, but it made me think that these guys on two wheels have a bona fide death wish and buying these ‘mopeds’ or ’scooters’ or bikes in general should include signing a waiver that says
“I do not hold other road users responsible for running me down and killing me because I tried to find a 30cm gap between a bus and a semi trailer at 65km/h. in the rain. at night”
If, by “educated”, you mean an academic with a tenuous understanding of reality who rides these things around the inner city between the cafe and university because they’re too useless to get a real job, then no I am not.
If you mean “educated” as someone who’s ridden a friend’s scooter to see what the big deal is and seen how badly they stop and handle, how unstable they are over bumps, how much those two prior issues are amplified in the wet, how little crash protection they provide, and noticed that the ADRs permit their unleaded engines to avoid running catalytic converters so they’re allowed to spew noxious and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, then yes I am.
Scooters and motorcycles are only “environmentally friendly” because they are in such small numbers. If bike numbers were to grow to anywhere near car usability, their relative inefficiency to move multiple people coupled with their un-catalysed emissions makes them worse for the environment than a small car.
Ah hah. So your an angry self-educated man then.
Its hard to remain calm when there’s so much stupidity in the world from self-styled “learned” people, who just go about propagating the mistakes of others.
Thats just life - particularly in Australia where pandering to half baked minorities and voting school teachers, rock band singers and short arses with bad parts into government is just another day at the office.
what hope do we have?
but I dont mind scooters, as long as I don’t have to ride one and they stay out of my way when I’m driving
As a bike rider I wish some times i had a big truck so when the cars cut me off or sideswipe me i can ignore hitting the breaks and let them feel the pain of there actions.
YOU have A HEAD TO TURN AROUND AND ALSO MIRRORS TO USE.