Gardner takes on national safety role

Wayne Gardner's new role on the National Road Safety Council may seem at odds with a past in which he hurtled around the world's race tracks at more than 300 km/h.It's been 17 years since Wayne Gardner retired from international motorcycle racing, but the man known affectionately as the Wollongong Whizz confesses he still has a need for speed."I still love riding fast and when the urge hits I go to Eastern Creek raceway," Australia's first 500cc world champion said.A former safety ambassador for Honda, Gardner believes his accumulated experience both on and off the track makes him well qualified to play a key role in developing the next generation of strategies designed to lower the annual road toll.The inaugural meeting of the new council was held in Canberra last week."Unfortunately the council's work to develop the next 10-year strategy has been made a little tougher by the fact that the current strategy did not achieve its target of reducing the rate of road deaths by 40 per cent," he said.To date, a 26 per cent reduction was achieved between 2001-2010, with more than 1500 deaths recorded last year. Given his background, Gardner's main focus will be on developing strategies for better motorcycle safety."Motorbike sales over the past five years have increased ten-fold, however during the same period accident rates involving bikes have significantly increased, especially with riders aged 40 years and older," he said."The smart thing about this initiative by the Federal Government is that they have said to us, 'get out into the streets and find out what's needed'."That's exactly what I plan to do," he said.These days it's business and two sons following in their father's footsteps that keeps the motorcycle ace busy.Last year, sons Remy (13) and Luke (10) had podium finishes in state dirt bike riding championships."I have been very pro-active on the junior scene, especially trying to get Motorcycle Australia to get more involved in safety."I think that early education and training is a major factor in changing the culture which currently exists on our roads," Gardner said.