Well things are different in each state here in Oz mate so I'll only talk about Victoria where I live. Here, as part of the compulsory annual registration cost (around 600 bucks per year for a big bike) about 75% of that cost is for "Personal Accident Insurance" which doesn't cover either vehicle, it's just insurance to cover your own injuries.
Considering what could happen to you in a "Get off", I can understand why it costs so much. I remember my first visit to see Brian (Bear) in the spinal ward of the Austin Hospital, he'd broken his back and several other major bones, and had died twice on the track while they waited for a (helicopter?) ambulance to ferry him across the Tasman Sea to Melbourne.
He had several major surgeries, was in intensive care for weeks, then was transferred to another hospital for rehab, where they provided a unit for him to live in, with his beautiful wife, Ev. I'd hate to think how much that would all cost if Brian had to pay for it.
Here in Victoria, if your bike (or car) is older than 25 years and you belong to a club, you can get a "Club Permit" which is a red number plate, and it allows you to ride for either 45 days ($68) or 90 days ($119) per year (pretty much every weekend) and also covers you for "Personal Accident Insurance", so if you end up like Brian, you're covered for all your medical costs, which is excellent value, IMHO.
Of course, that won't help you if you run up the arse of a new Ferrari F40, or go thru the window of your local McDonalds whilst impressing the crowd with some cunning stunts in the carpark, so for me, vehicle "Comprehensive" insurance is mandatory. Good thing once again is that as I get older, my insurance is cheaper.
While it still costs around $600 per year for my Triumph Rocket III (insured value is around $23K) it's $320 for my Goldwing (insured value $9K) and $219 for my Yamaha FJ1200. ($3400) I don't have my BMW K100RS SE or my CB750 insured yet, as they aren't registered, but hopefully by the time I do, the Triumph will be gone and I can use that 600 to insure the other two.
While I'd rather not pay for either insurance (and obviously that pisses me off) the consequences of not insuring are just too dire for me to contemplate. Still, paying for all of this insurance keeps my drinking down, which is probably a good thing.
Oh, and I watch "Cops" and that "Field Sobriety Test" always makes me laugh, the cops here have had little breath test analysers here for as long as I can remember, so I don't know why your cops don't, and I think it would reduce the amount of injuries I see on "Cops" where a suspected drunk falls flat on his or her face during the test. It is fun to watch though. Cheers, Terry.
