Choice Hotels offers benefits to motoring club members

Choice Hotels claims to bring together the people, brands, and technology that enable the success of others—welcoming every guest and partner wherever their journey takes them. 

The Bear Tries Motorcycle Touring - Without Travel

Is this the future of bike travel holidays?

Peter "The Bear" Thoeming

It feels a bit like cheating. Is it really touring if you head out in the morning for a day's ride, only to return to the same place in the evening without "travelling anywhere"? The only answer I could come up with was, who cares when it works?

Yet another Quad Bike fatality highlights the need for safety

The danger of unprotected riders of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), also known as Quad Bikes, being involved with fatal accidents was brought to the fore again with the recent death of much-respected female executive and Medibank chief marketing officer, Lisa Ronson, 52, when she lost control of an ATV she was riding on her family property near Daylesford, Victoria, on Saturday evening.

Along with husband, Chris Taylor, the couple had bought the Ullina property in 2019 and had been working together on making it a loving home for their family. A detailed and heartfelt tribute can be read here.

According to official sources, 42 children and 207 adults have been killed in quad bike accidents in the last 20 years, highlighting the danger these vehicles pose even in the hands of experienced riders. It's the third death involving an ATV on a rural Victorian property in two months. 

The primary danger exists when the vehicle rolls over and traps the rider underneath, either crushing or asphyxiating them. Given that these unregistered vehicles are ridden mostly on private property by riders without helmets, the danger of death or serious injury is significant.

Data from Safe Work Australia also reveals that around two thirds of these accidents occurred in the workplace and that quad bikes are a leading cause of death on Australian farms.

Beginning in 2020, national regulations were introduced in Australia that mandates that the retail sale of new or secondhand ATVs have rollover protection.

CF Moto brand ATV showing mandatory 'quad bar' rollover protection. (supplied)

"Every ATV sold across the country must have an approved quad bar fitted," said John Davies of Gawler Motorcycle Centre, a leading reseller of the top-selling CF Moto brand of ATV, "unfortunately we have no control over what people do when they take them home."

These quad bars must pass a rigid test and vehicles sold with these devices carry a tag explaining their conformity to regulation.

While specific details of Ms Ronson's accident are not yet public, we make no suggestion that her accident was a result of misuse of the equipment, lack of due care or whether the ATV in question was fitted with a 'quad bar'.

We do, however, make the strong recommendation that if you own a quad bike or are invited to ride one, that you take every precaution possible before doing so. 

A coroner's report is being prepared.

Rare stolen Aston Martin DB2 found

Guest Blogger David Ellis says that a dilapidated and unroadworthy 1949 Aston Martin DB2 sports car has just sold at auction in England for 679,000 British pounds—the equivalent of nearly AU$1,243,000.

But it is the car’s amazing history the new owner obviously thinks worthy of every penny of what he’s spent: after competing in the 1949 French Le Mans and Belgium Spa-24 endurance races, it raced for a few more years before being retired and eventually bought by an English enthusiast – from whom it was stolen in Hertfordshire in 2002.

Looking forlorn after being recovered from a storage shed in
Holland 14 years after disappearing, the famous Aston Martin DB2
sold at auction for the equivalent of AU$1,243,000. (Pic: Bonhams Auctioneers)

A prestige hire car for $5 a day? The Secret of Vehicle Relocations.

For a long time, the relocation of hire vehicles was something of a secret society. Once upon a time, if you kept in touch with the hire car companies, you could be lucky and find a vehicle that needed relocating and get it for a few dollars a day.

These one-way return rides used to take some finesse, but nowadays, several websites exist to help you actually plan such a trip, with listings of available vehicles and their intended destinations.

These are mostly campers and motorhomes, but you can also find sedans, SUVs and light commercial vehicles. 

A new player in the market is U R Drive, a prestige vehicle hire company that frequently shifts new and near-new vehicles all across the country. These vehicles are mostly German luxury SUVs and sedans, such as Audi A3s and A5s and their SUV stablemates, Q3s and Q5s, as well as equivalent BMWs, KIAs and Mercedes-Benz.

The best time to avail yourself of a relocation is during peak season when airfares are sky high (so to speak) and you have two or three companions with luggage. Driving an empty vehicle on your own is of little benefit unless you have time to kill.

There is the added benefit of the simple pleasure of a road trip and this effort can be lightened when a fuel subsidy is offered. A fuel subsidy, you say? Yes, depending on the distance and urgency, the hire car company may provide you with a fuel rebate. It doesn’t hurt to ask even if the rebate is not advertised.

If you like the idea of a fancy luxury German vehicle, contact U R Drive directly and ask about current relocations. Their website lists current fleet vehicles (of which there are almost 300) but not relocations, so you’ll need to call. 

And if you just need a nice car for a few days while you’re in town on business, you’ll find their daily rates surprisingly affordable. 

Phone: Amy 0450 233 070

Email: bookings@urdrive.net