Online bike theft map launched

Ever wondered how often motorcycles get stolen in your neck of the woods? Thanks to a new online initiative from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC), which itself is a joint initiative between government and the insurance industry, you can see where the 8036 motorcycles stolen in Australia last financial year were pinched from.

The website www.protectyourbike.com.au not only lists hints and tips to help you keep your bike safe, it also features two interactive maps that show the numbers and locations of both stolen road and off-road motorcycles – one showing the entire nation, and one showing thefts made within 90km of Sydney’s CBD. According to the NMVTRC, motorcycles now make up over a quarter of all vehicles stolen and not recovered.

The NMVTRC’s Executive Director, Ray Carroll, said around 60 per cent of motorcycles are stolen from the home, with the vast majority never recovered.

“The recreational nature of motorcycle riding means that bikes are most often at home when the owner is not,” he said. “Therefore riders need to take extra precautions to ensure their motorcycles are properly secured in garages or behind locked gates at home.

“With close to six in 10 bikes stolen not recovered each year and the fact that a large number of off-road motorcycle thefts are most likely not reported, motorcycle theft has a significant economic and social impact on Australia. Preventing and detecting motorcycle theft is challenging, but helping motorcyclists to understand the risks and communicating simple steps riders can take to reduce their risk of theft will go a long way towards reducing the impact of motorcycle theft in Australia. We encourage all motorcyclists to check out this website today," he added.

For more information visit www.protectyourbike.com.au