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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-03-29 Daily Xml
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Motorcycle Lane Filtering

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Road Safety. Can the minister tell the council about new laws introduced by the state government to allow motorcycles to lane filter?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:49): Let me thank the honourable member for his important question, because this speaks to a topic that affects many, many road users across the state. I am very pleased that yesterday I was able to table new regulations to allow motorcyclists to lane filter in South Australia, commencing from 15 April this year.

Lane filtering is the practice of riding a motorcycle at low speeds, or in this case below 30 km/h, between stationary or slow-moving lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction. This is quite a distinct practice for something else known as lane splitting, which is a term used to describe moving through traffic at speeds above 30 km/h, and that remains illegal in all Australian jurisdictions. As minister, I have been very pleased to be able to introduce these new regulations and laws that give motorcyclists greater certainty and, indeed, align our regulations and laws with some other jurisdictions across the country.

Lane filtering is currently already allowed in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and is also being trialled in the ACT. In considering the introduction of similar laws in South Australia, it was important to consider what the impact of lane filtering had been interstate and I am pleased that there have been no noticeable concerns reported from these jurisdictions. The motorcycling community has strongly advocated for this change for a number of years now to the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and we have worked collaboratively with motorcycling community groups, SA Police, the department, the RAA, the Motor Accident Commission and pedestrian and cycling groups in the development of these regulations.

We know that motorcycle riders are vulnerable road users. Motorcyclists account for around 4 per cent of all registered vehicles in South Australia and motorcyclists account for 14 per cent of all fatalities on our roads and 17 per cent of serious injuries. Those statistics represent a dramatic overrepresentation when it comes to deaths and injuries amongst motorcyclists on our roads. In the past five years, there were 14 serious rear end casualty crashes involving at least one motorbike rider where the rider was not considered to be at fault.

Some motorcyclists believe that lane filtering will improve their safety by having greater control over their exposure to traffic, particularly vehicles from behind. Moving in between two lanes of stationary or slow-moving traffic may reduce a motorcyclist's risk of being hit from behind by an inattentive driver. It will be important for motorcyclists to familiarise themselves with the new laws and the following conditions will apply:

only riders with an R or R-Date licence class—that is, those who are not required to display an L or P plate—may lane filter;

lane filtering is only allowed under the speed limit of 30 km/h and is only permitted when it is safe to do so;

lane filtering is not permitted in school zones, next to parked cars, between vehicles and the kerb or on roundabouts; and

the practice is not permitted in bicycle, bus or tram lanes.

Riders who fail to comply with any of these conditions will face a $360 expiation fee and the imposition of three licence demerit points. This is commensurate with the penalty for speeding between 10 and 19 km/h over the speed limit, which we know more than doubles the risk of a crash occurring in urban areas. Police can charge motorcyclists with a number of road traffic offences if lane filtering is done in a negligent or dangerous manner. The state government urges all road users to familiarise themselves with the new changes and be aware of motorcyclists engaging in lane filtering on the road.

Let me conclude by acknowledging the work that has been undertaken with the motorcycling community, particularly the Motorcycle Riders Association and Ride to Review. Those two organisations, with their capable leadership, have been in active discussions with my office and have worked collaboratively to do this. In my assessment, this is one of the rare occasions where there has been an opportunity to do something very, very simple that has a positive effect on so many road users around the state.

It has worked well in other jurisdictions and I have every reason to believe that it will work well here. Sometimes it is the simple things that government can do that can make a really big difference to people. I think this has been a good example of it and I hope that it works well for many years to come.

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