A Ulysses Club member who witnessed the accident said the rider who died was experienced. By definition, Ulysses members are not young tearaways - the minimum age is 40 and full membership must wait until age 50. The tragedy nonetheless highlighted a marked shift in motorcycle fatalities. According to VicRoads, motorcyclists aged over 30 made up just 6 per cent of bike fatalities, and 9.4 per cent of injured riders, in the period 1976-80. By contrast, in the period 1996-2000, motorcyclists over 30 made up almost 41 per cent of bike fatalities and 47per cent of injuries.
More recent statistics confirm the pattern.
A motorcycle safety consultant, Rob Smith, says he was not surprised by the findings and expects the trend to continue. There's a lot of people who have returned to riding, commonly known as born-again bikers. That age group buy motorcycles as a recreational vehicle. There's a need for ongoing experience and a lot of those born-again riders are not exactly getting that. If you don't do 400 kilometres a month then you don't develop your skills above that of a novice rider.