Perth police motorcycle fleet bolstered

Motorists travelling during peak hour in Western Australia can expect to see a lot more police motorcycles patrolling the highways after the state's Police Commissioner released more motorcycles.

A fleet of 15 police motorcycles, Honda ST1300s, has been pulled out of the garage and will bolster the current 30 motorcycles currently in operation.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan issued a stern warning to Perth motorists to obey the law on the freeways.

O'Callaghan struck a deal with the union that allows highway patrol units to work solo between the hours of 6:00am and 9:00am, then 3:00pm and 6:00pm. Previously, Western Australian police officers have had to work in pairs.

"When you think about officers working two up and only 30 vehicles being on the road; we are going from something like 15 motorcycle patrols per day on a good day, to something like 45 on a day, so it's going to increase by a factor of three," Commissioner O'Callaghan told the ABC.

The extra motorcycles have had the mothballs cleaned off and brought out of storage where they've been since the CHOGM conference.

"Over the last couple of years since we scaled back the motorcycle fleet," added O'Callaghan, who stated that Western Australian road users "....have said to me we'd like to see the motorcycles back.

"People take notice of them, it does make people slow down, and we are also being constantly asked to increase patrols on the freeway.

"It's a benefit for us, it's a benefit for the community of Western Australia," he said.

The amount of infringements are likely to rise on WA's freeways, with hoon laws being strictly enforced, while drink drivers will also be targeted by the increased motorcycle patrols.

What do you think of the initiative being taken in Perth -  are increased patrols a better way to spend tax payers money than speed cameras? Leave your comments below.