The head of a motorcycling safety group is blaming the Government for road deaths, after four motorcyclists were killed on Saturday.
New Zealand Motorcycling Safety Consultants CEO Allan Kirk said there have been decades of neglect towards motorcycle safety, and the rising death toll reflects that.
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On Saturday, four people were killed in three separate crashes. One was killed while participating in a charity race on the West Coast to pay tribute to the 29 men who died in the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster.
"Every other Western country makes anti-locks on motorcycles compulsory, they've done it for years, and yet governments have, for years, ignored that and a few other things to do with motorcycle safety, and motorcyclists have kept on dying," said Mr Kirk.
Anti-lock braking systems prevent vehicles' wheels from locking during braking, helping to sustain traction on the road.
The European Commission made it mandatory in 2012 for all new motorcycles above 125cc to have anti-locking brakes
But New Zealand's Ministry of Transport is yet to do the same. While a report into the anti-lock braking system has been completed by the ministry, it is yet to be released publicly.
Brent Johnston, the ministry's manager for safety and mobility, said Ministers are considering a plan to make the system mandatory for motorcycles and recognised the potential for the anti-lock braking system to help save lives.
Newshub.
