Steve

Steve

Thank you for the opportunity to show my calculation.

I drive 16km each way to work every day – for about 250 days per year. 32*250 = 8000km

My 8 Seater Toyota Estima fuel efficiency is ~ 11 litres/100km
My Honda CBR1100xx fuel efficiency is ~7.3 litres/100km

for 8000 km fuel used is:
Car 80 * 11 = 880 litres
Bike 80 * 7.3 = 584 litres

I therefore use 800-584= 216 litres of fuel less on the bike.

At current fuel price (91 – used in both) of $1.65 per litre this equates to 216*1.65= $356.40

So I’l needlessly burn over 200 litres of fuel per year sat in traffic – yet still I’ll be paying less.

My employment contract includes a car park – so I pay no more (or less) whatever vehicle I drive. But you raise an interesting point – should new zealanders all abandon their bikes because it’s cheaper to drive a car, there will be anywhere up to 110,000 LESS car park spaces – what would that do to parking prices I wonder? (Maybe by not using as many parks, motorcyclists are not only helping the planet but subsidising parking prices for car drivers?)

Now Mr Sanchez, I invite you to share your calculation data for the rest of us:

- $77 per car driver per year
- 19 times more likely to have an accident (please factor in that motorcycles generally travel less kms than cars and quote a study that’s relevant to the current MZ motorycle fleet).

as for your point about transport choices – if I choose to walk to work, or cycle, I am statistically placing my self at similar high risk who pays for that? For that matter, I could choose to skateboard, pogo-stick, fly a hangglider, microlight, light plane, or helicopter to work…. yet still I wouldn’t have to pay ACC levies on that mode of transport – who would pay? how? I know I’d still be covered if I injured myself though…. such is the point of a no-fault scheme.

And just a point about the who 60% thing – the truth is that 60% (ish) of crashes that involve another vehicle ARE the fault of the other party. The 30 or so % of crashes where no other part was involved is accepted – though are you implying a single vehicle crash is always the fault of the driver? Whilst there certainly are a reasonable proportion of at fault accidents (as there are with cars too) the environment (gravel, diesel spills, line painting, tar seal flashing (shiny roads)) present a much greater hazard to bikers than other road users – shame our roads couldn’t be as well maintained as many other countries!

Main point is – there’s no ACC financial crisis at all – the urgency is manufactured. Bikes are the easy target here – Who’s next? If the government DOES want to move ACC to a fully user pays model – it certainly can’t and won’t stop at the bikes.