Who's the Menace?.

Recently, insurance company AAMI produced one of the most laughable press releases I’ve ever seen – and believe me, I’ve seen plenty! Worst of all, the papers just picked it up and printed it without ever applying any common sense to it. Here’s a bit of the Sydney Sun Herald’s report, with my comments in square brackets.As motorcycle and scooter sales soar, more than one third of NSW drivers say scooters are the "new menace" on Sydney roads.

Scooter sales for the six months to April were 20 per cent higher than the same period last year, while motorcycle sales enjoyed an even bigger jump - of 36 per cent - in the same period, insurance company AAMI says. But it says motor scooters, usually with automatic transmission and simpler to ride, are still seen as a worse hazard than their more powerful two-wheeled counterparts on major city roads.

Since when are perfectly legal forms of transport ‘hazards’? And how do they compare with, say, pedestrians?
Quoting figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, AAMI said almost half of the 120,827 scooters and motorcycles registered in NSW last year are located in Sydney."Motorcycle and scooter sales have soared over the past 12 months - possibly because of rising fuel costs, road traffic and congestion and people's frustration with crowded public transport," AAMI NSW corporate affairs manager Selina O'Connor said in a statement.
Possibly, Selina, possibly. And possibly because they’re fun, too.
"However, according to the latest AAMI research, many drivers are annoyed with the increased presence of motor scooters on major city roads, with one-third of NSW drivers calling them the 'new menace'."

So we annoy drivers. Maybe we’ll annoy them enough so they change to a more ecologically friendly form of transport too, like a scooter!

The research also showed 78 per cent of NSW car drivers in the survey said they had seen motorcyclists breaking the law and taking unnecessary risks on the roads.[Mister, mister, ask me about how often I see drivers breaking the law! Mister?]"This isn't to say that car drivers are any safer or less erratic than motorcyclists, but it does suggest they need to be more vigilant and not take dangerous risks like ducking and weaving in and out of traffic," Ms O'Connor said.

Quite agree. Car drivers do need to be more vigilant. Or is that not what you meant, Selina? Problems with grammar?

"The unfortunate and often tragic reality is that the motorcycle or scooter rider will come off second best in an accident involving a car, regardless of who is at fault." In my experience, however, they can also avoid crashes more successfully.

Mr (sic) O'Connor said a 2004 RTA study had shown in the event of a crash, motorcycle riders were 20 times more likely to be killed than drivers. That figure is very, very rubbery. And what’s the equivalent figure for bicyclists and pedestrians, Sun Herald? I’d love to know. Bet it’s considerably higher. But you didn’t bother to check, did you? Easier to just run the press release, wasn’t it? Now, call me a cynic if you like, but I wonder if the timing of this ‘survey’ has anything to do with the fact that the Motorcycle Council of NSW is looking into the excessive cost of bike and scooter green slips? Is AAMI, one of the companies involved, getting in early to paint riders as irresponsible? Naah! Couldn’t be.