Victoria Police yesterday launched an operation specifically targeting motorcyclists following this year’s rider death toll reaching 28, 16 more than the same period last year and just one less than the state’s 2015 total.

The blitz, dubbed Operation Motus, will see the State Highway Patrol’s motorcycle-mounted Solo Unit focussing exclusively on motorcycle and scooter riders, a response which has angered legitimate law-abiding riders after it was found at least 10 of recorded fatalities were unlicensed riders.

“We’ve had a horror start to the year when it comes to motorcycle fatalities and this is our response,” Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said. “From now on, the focus of the Solo Unit will be to police motorcycles.”

Other questionable statistics quoted by the organisation in order to justify the use of 70 tax-payer funded vehicles in the highly targeted operation was that an inquiry into each death was found that in 86 percent of the cases, the crash was due to rider error, and that in three out of every four instances, the rider was allegedly speeding.

According to the police’s media release, Operation Motus will be looking for and targeting inappropriate protective clothing, though with no official legislation mandating it, it’s difficult to ascertain what the operation might deem as inappropriate.

The unit will also be on the lookout for unsafe, or illegal behaviour and conduct, speeding, impairment, unlicensed riders and/or those riding outside the conditions of their licence.

“The Solo Unit will now be deployed to areas we have identified as particular hotspots for motorcycle fatalities, collisions and dangerous behaviour, Fryer continued

“If you’re a motorcyclist in Victoria who hasn’t been checked by police lately, expect that to change.”

AMCN understands a new fleet of Husqvarna 701 Supermoto machines has been added to the Unit in a bid to increase the Operation’s visibility.

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Husqvarna 701 Supermoto