A DRIVER who lost his licence for two years after killing a motorcyclist had his ban reduced by six months on appeal yesterday.
The decision, handed down at the County Court in Ballarat, angered members of the Motorcycle Riders Association Of Australia, who say they will raise their concerns with Attorney-General Rob Hulls.
Andrew Max Schreiber, 46, of Kyneton, struck and killed Ballarat man Paul Birkett on Lauriston Rd in Lauriston, near Kyneton, on October 28 last year.
MRAA Victorian branch president Dale Maggs said he was "sickened" by the court's decision and had arranged to meet with Mr Hulls on a date to be fixed.
He said he would push to have penalties increased for summary traffic offences involving a fatality or serious injury.
"There's an inequity in the balance of things," he said.
"When you look at the hoon laws, a driver can have their vehicle confiscated and sold. When a motorcyclist is involved you can be fined and have the penalty reduced on appeal.
"We all feel like we've been stabbed in the back by the justice system. We feel that they place little value on our lives and treat us differently to others."
Yesterday, the court heard Schreiber's utility smashed head-on into Mr Birkett when he turned right with only 20m separating the vehicles.
He pleaded guilty at Ballarat Magistrates Court in December to three charges including one of careless driving. The offence does not attract a mandatory disqualification period.
The eldest of Mr Birkett's three children, Caitlyn, attended the hearing yesterday and said the outcome did not change the fact her father was dead.
"But I seriously thought (the original sentence) would have been the minimal price to pay and he would accept that," she said.
Defence counsel for Schreiber, David McKenzie, said his client was was pre-occupied by a dispute with his woodcutter at the time of the incident.
"When he saw the man was home he immediately turned right; that was his fatal error," he said.
Mr McKenzie also said Schreiber developed severe post traumatic stress disorder after an industrial accident in 2000 and his condition had deteriorated after the crash.
He asked the court to reduce Schreiber's driving ban, saying his client needed his licence to attend appointments with his doctor and psychiatrist.
Mr McKenzie also asked the court to consider that Schreiber's wife commuted to Melbourne for work and that Kyneton's public transport system was unreliable.
In hearing the case, Judge Graeme Crossley described Schreiber's actions as "a gross departure from safe driving".
But in reducing the suspension, he said 18-months off the road was "realistic" given the nature of the offence, it's consequences and the circumstances of the appellant.