The Opposition is calling on the Malinauskas Labor Government to urgently expand the Rider Safe program to include an on-road training component for novice riders.
New data shows motorcyclist lives lost have skyrocketed 75 per cent this year when compared to the same time in 2022, with seven riders tragically killed.
It’s been a shocking year on South Australian roads this year so far, with 46 lives lost in total – double the number compared to the same time last year.
During its term, the former Liberal Government laid the groundwork and completed a crucial transition to an enhanced motorcycle Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) in a huge boost to road safety.
It was always the intention to build a strong GLS foundation before turning our attention to further - and much needed - development of rider training.
Shadow Minister for Road Safety, Vincent Tarzia, called on the Malinauskas Labor Government to rollout the final piece of the road safety puzzle for novice motorcyclists.
“We are losing lives - especially the lives of motorcyclists - at an horrific rate this year and urgent work must be done to enhance rider training, so we are giving learners the best shot at survival when they take to the road,” Mr Tarzia said.
“The former Liberal Government did all the heavy lifting and successfully rolled out the GLS for novice riders, now we ask the Malinauskas Labor Government to come in and finish off this important job by boosting pre-learner training to include on-road component.
“We need to put young and novice riders on the real road - but in a safe environment - so they can better understand how to interact with traffic and, if they make a mistake, learn from it without catastrophic consequence.
“A change to the Rider Safe program to include an on-road training component just means novice riders will get more training in a real road environment that better aligns their practical education with what is expected of L-plate drivers using a car.
“This is a no-brainer whatever way you look it, and the reality is you cannot put a price on saving lives and extra and enhanced training will help achieve this.”
