Australia to employ 'bendy' road signs as part of biker safety initiative

THE AUSTRALIAN STATE of Queensland is to follow Britain's role in helping reduce the number of injuries to motorcyclists involved in motorbike accidents with the use of flexible road signs.

Called the - wait for it - 'bendy signs', the new flexible roadside furniture initiative was unveiled by Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace.

The first of 76 signs to be installed along the Captain Cook Highway north of Cairns as part of a $20 million safety program.

According to state statistics, motorcyclists are 30 times more likely to be killed on the roads; it's hoped the new bendy signs will reduce serious and fatal bike smashes.

Speaking about the initiative, Minister Wallace said:

"They're called bendy signs.

"Now, a lot of motorcyclists as you know use the Captain Cook Highway - if they do come off their bike and hit one of these signs they're a flexible sign so it doesn't crack their skull or ensure they have an injury.

"These are Australian first technology."

Another part of the state's new safety initiative is to fit extra rails on corners to stop motorbike riders from sliding under the guardrail - something that can cause serious, even fatal, injury.

"It's about making the road and the roadside more forgiving for motorbike riders," he said.