A Queensland police inspector says the number of inexperienced riders has soared in the past year creating a dangerous mix on the roads.

18 more people have died on Queensland roads this year compared to the same time last year, with motorcyclists accounting for nearly half the deaths.

Inspector Peter Flanders, an experienced motorcycle officer, said motorcyclists need to be able to identify and manage risks.

“It is one hell of a concern, there’s no doubt about it … it boils down to mutual respect on the road between all of the road users but it also comes down to particularly motorcyclists being aware that if they get hit, they get hurt, that’s just one of life laws.”

Motorcycle registrations have surged in the past year.

“There is a lot of inexperienced motorcyclists, but there’s also if you add that amount of motorcyclists into the environment, in a very short period, I think that was almost 9,000 extra between April last year and December last year,” he said.

“If you add that into the environment, not only do you have inexperienced motorcyclists, you have inexperienced other road users who are not used to dealing with that amount of motorcyclists, so it’s a lose-lose situation.”

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