Motorcycling Community Engagement Panel

The Motorcycling Community Engagement Panel (MCEP) has been established to provide advice to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety on issues relating to motorcycling in Victoria.

The role of the MCEP is to provide a forum for the exchange of information between the motorcycling community, road safety partners, and the Minister. It will provide opportunities for the motorcycling community to present ideas and proposals to improve road safety for Victorian riders.  

Who is on the Motorcycling Community Engagement Panel?

The Panel is made up of 11 members – 7 riders from a range of backgrounds and 4 members who hold executive positions across the Victorian government and who have a focus on motorcycle safety. 

Why do you have a Community Engagement Panel?

Motorcycles are an important way that Victorians choose to travel, and more people are riding for commuting, work, and recreation. There’s been an enormous increase in motorcycle sales, registrations, and licences over the past few years, especially from riders buying trail bikes. 

Motorcycling presents its own set of unique safety challenges and riders are one of the most unprotected road users. Government cannot address motorcycle safety alone, so we want to hear directly from riders about how we can make getting on the bike safer - both on and off the road.

Road Safety Victoria and its road safety partners are committed to listening to riders to understand the issues that are important to them. We know that motorcyclists are a very diverse group of road users with different attitudes, motivations, experiences, and behaviours. We want to hear those varied opinions and make sure that all riders are represented in the way that we approach road safety. 

What does the Panel do? 

The panel provides a forum for exchange of information between the motorcycling community, other stakeholders, the Victorian Government and the Minister for Roads and Road Safety.

It provides an opportunity for the motorcycling community to table ideas and proposals to improve rider safety. Panel members also advise on motorcycling trends in Victoria and provide input on how a proposed policy or project may impact the motorcycling community. 

Importantly, the panel members collaborate and work closely together using their individual experiences to provide government with a genuine and robust contribution to improving rider safety. 

What have they been doing so far? 

Since it was established, panel members both as group and individually, have utilised their unique and shared experiences to provide government with advice on projects such as (but not limited to): 

• The TAC’s latest protective gear campaign
• How to improve the safety of riders working in the gig economy
• The Gippsland Trail Bike Pilot Project currently planned at Neerim
• Infrastructure improvements in inner city Melbourne 
• Input into the Victorian chapter of the Australasian College of Road Safety’s Motorcycle forum
• Assisting DoT and Regional Roads Victoria to identify popular motorcycle riding routes so that these can be prioritised for upgrade and maintenance 

How did you select the panel members? 

In 2019, the Department of Transport held an expression of interest process for riders to apply for membership of the panel. Over 800 applications were received which were eventually shortlisted to about 50. We invited these riders to meet us in person, and from there, we were able to identify those people who had what we were looking for, which was,

• Broad expertise across a range of motorcycling experiences and preferences
• Honest, collaborative, and open to working with other riders and government representatives 
• Strong reach within their motorcycling community
• Enthusiastic – not just about motorcycle safety but about promoting the wider benefits of motorcycling 
• Confident in conveying their views to government and the ability to challenge traditional ways of thinking

Who are the panel members?

The panel members come from both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. They own and ride a range of different bikes – from sports, trail, adventure tourer, to vintage, cruisers, and scooters.

Name	Rides		Summary
Stacey Ciriello	Cruiser		Stacey is the founder of Biker Babes Australia which is a network to support and empower female riders. The group also supports charity rides and other clubs, businesses, and organisations in the motorcycle industry. Stacey has ridden overseas and is currently enjoying her 2019 Honda Rebel Bobber
Christopher Sleeman	Naked, Sportsbike, Scooter, Off-road		Through his professional employment Chris has industry engagement with manufacturers, motorcycle dealerships, training organisations, community road safety organisations, government, and the riding community. He is particularly passionate about improving the safety of newer riders and has extensive experience in training novices. His riding experience is varied and consists of on road, trail bike and adventure riding.
Simon Bailey	Naked, Sportsbike, Scooter, Off-road		Simon is a member of the Ducati Owners Club of Victoria and former motorcycle racer. His previous bikes include singles, twins, triples and both inline and V fours dating from the mid-seventies. He’s currently riding a KTM 1290GT, Ducati Panigale V4 Speciale, Ducati V4 Streetfighter and 250GTS Vespa – with a Ducati V4 Pikes Peak Multistrada due in September. Simon used to run ride days at Broadford and Phillip Island and has trained many riders (and drivers) over the years – both on road and on track.  Simon rides most weekends and does multi-day trips several times a year. He also loves driving – currently an Amarok Ultimate and Supercharged V8 M3
Rob Salvatore	Sportsbike, Tourer		Rob is the Deputy Chair of the Victorian Motorcycle Council and a significant contributor to VMC policy and submissions. He has served on previous motorcycle advisory panels and committees. A passionate rider of some 25yrs riding experience, his riding is mostly on road, but also includes some track and a little off road.  Rob bleeds green, with his main ride being a Kawasaki Ninja Z1000SX after reluctantly semi retiring his beloved Kawasaki ZX9r. He earned a RoADAR diploma from ROSPA UK in on-road delivered motorcycle roadcraft coaching and brings his engineering skill set to all things motorcycling.
Brian Rix	Naked, Tourer, Off road, Café racer, Vintage		Brian has been riding motorcycles for more than 50 years, learning on the sandy tracks along the Murray River. Now retired after a career in policing, he has a collection of motorcycles ranging from classics from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to current regular rides for trail, road and adventure motorcycling.  He and his wife, Shirley Hardy-Rix, have ridden around the world through 68 countries on six continents, over 20 years, writing three books on their motorcycling adventures. Brian is a regular contributor to motorcycle magazines, participates in an international podcast on motorcycling and is passionate about improving conditions and safety for motorcyclists.

How can we contact the Panel?

You can send an email to the MCEP secretariat at [email protected]