My 2 cents on the issue:
This 30% increase is purely / mainly due to so many twats now on Scooters… so many useless drivers ran out and bought a scooter when the fuel prices went up. I know a few.... Now they are crashing. Thats the 30% increase right there.
I think they should ban scooters - unless you have another bigger bike which proves you can ride. Which I know is not practical but it may stop the 17 year old girl who is weaving around dangerously from taking on our freeways. Look how many scooter riders there are on the freeways now, all hanging on for dear life as cars pass them. Scooters are death traps in that they have no power to get out of trouble, no braking capability and the tiny wheels gives them terrible handling and cornering at speed… couple that with an inexperienced rider, unaware cage drivers and taxi's… recipe for death. Its fine if you live in Rome and want to go to the cafe, or you want to pop down to the shops in the suburbs.... but not for commuting
My initial reaction was to disagree strongly. (I do about 70% of my commuting on a scooter) But after some thought, you have a point. Not about banning scooters, that's just silly, but about the skills and attitude of some scooter riders.
A scooter is so light and easy to ride that you can probably handle one quite well if you can ride a bicycle. The result is that a lot of riders don't have a clue what they are doing. They don't know how to brake,corner or do evasive maneuvers.
Regarding power and braking distance. You'll be surprised. Because it's so light it can stop on a dime, and the CVT transmission allows me to be at the next robot by the time you've dropped your clutch.
You both are making a huge point.
One of the things that I have been wondering about a lot is the test to get your license.
When I did mine for a big bike (1993) I went riding with the 'spietkop' - he on his bike behind - in the traffic.
I had to keep an eye on him and his indicators and he obviously watched me the whole time.
Nowadays the final test is literally just testing your ability to pull away, stop and ride around a couple of obstacles on an isolated track.
In my mind that would be a good test to give someone before you give them a learner's license, not a final test for your license.
A motorcycle is the form of road transport that can get you hurt the most of all, but the only one where the test to see if you can doesn't even touch a public road...
I mean if you think about it - a guy go to someone like Billy De Beer for a week or three, take a TW 200 and pass the test without having been on the road properly.
Then he can go and buy himself a fireblade (or a scooter for that matter) and let himself loose on traffic on a bike that he doesn't know, with 0 experience.
So for me the 1st step about this would be to clamp down on illegal riders (rider and bike licenses and roadworthy) and then to adjust the process to get a license - not to be a pain in the ass or make it difficult, but to have a test that is a better representation of real life scenarios.