There were over 7000 accidents on Bali roads last year and 632 deaths, according to Bali Police Chief Inspector General Ida Bagus Kade Putra Narendra. The vast majority of those – 86 percent – involved motorcycles.
This year is proving to be just as deadly, especially for Australians.
Penrith father Kevin Malligan succumbed to his injuries in January after being thrown from the passenger seat of a moped.
Newcastle woman Rebecca Ode was medically evacuated back to Australia after suffering horrific head injuries in a scooter crash in July.
In August, Perth tradie Shane Ramsay suffered catastrophic injuries after crashing into a pole on his scooter. After flying him home, his family made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support when doctors informed them he would never regain brain function.
Less than two weeks later, experienced Queensland rider Thomas Cossins died after losing control on his Kawasaki around a bend.
The first three of these tragedies necessitated a public appeal for funding to help families with the eye-watering costs of repatriation and medical evacuation; DFAT has revealed that repatriation costs from Bali could be in excess of $60,000.
Shane Ramsay’s family was also saddled with a huge bill for hospital costs – he was not insured.
With scooter riding in Bali seen as a rite of passage for many Aussie tourists, Shane Ramsay’s case has triggered widespread social media commentary from armchair analysts keen to use his tragedy as a cautionary tale.
“This young Australian man has passed away recently from a motorbike crash in Bali because he was not wearing a helmet,” one post on Bali Bogans reads.
“Please make sure that you are qualified to ride a motorbike, you have travel insurance, you rent a good motorbike and helmet, you ride at the right speed, and you do not ride when you have taken alcohol or drugs.”
There certainly is a lesson to be learnt about taking out travel insurance.
But one avid local rider followed all the rules before setting off on a Bali bike adventure two years ago, and he still wound up saddled with an unexpected debt after a crash.
Gosnells man Tristan Talbott is lucky to have walked away from his accident relatively unscathed.
But his experience has taught him to read the fine print after his insurance claims were denied.
Tristan thought he was doing everything right when he took out a claim for comprehensive travel insurance and added a bonus adventure pack which covered him for injury and personal liability while riding a scooter or motorbike in Bali – an extra that many don’t know they need to tack on to their insurance package.
Despite being an experienced and licenced rider, the Bali roads threw up many challenges – including one which saw him careening into a couple of cars.
“I’ve never had an accident here, but riding over there is just completely different,” he said.
Luckily, he was wearing a helmet, so after the shock wore off, Tristan negotiated settlement for damages to the cars on the spot with cash. He also paid out-of-pocket for damages to the rental bike – both totalling more than $1600.
He chased up receipts, and all the evidence needed and filed a claim about a year later, only to have it denied.
“I felt really disheartened – I tried to do everything they wanted, and provide evidence. I didn’t think I was asking for too much either,” he said.
“It would have been nice to get that $1600 back – I was anticipating I would.”
Unfortunately, in the footnotes of his insurer’s Product Disclosure Statement it states that public liability will not be paid on any of the activities approved in the activity pack – which includes motorbike and scooter riding.
Most travel insurers also do not automatically provide rental vehicle cover for equipment including bicycles, motorbikes, mopeds and scooters.
“I did the reading; I just didn’t go into the fine print. I know I’m not perfect, but it would be good to get insurance when you pay for it.”
He said his experience has made him wary of ever getting on a scooter in Bali again. And he hopes his story can help others to avoid the same mistakes.
“Everyone’s an expert online, so there’s a lot of conflicting information. There’s no consensus, and nothing is crystal clear,” he said.
“A lot of people don’t know that you can’t ride out of class – if you don’t have an Australian motorcycle licence, you can’t ride over 50CC. And if you do, you’re not covered by insurance.
“And it’s important to go through a reputable hire company in Bali with rental insurance – unfortunately that means all the little guys miss out.
“I feel there should be a standard, and all of this information should be easily accessible to people.”
