...and when it comes to writing our standards the NZ government just gets the Australian ones and takes them to the photocopier. But hey, judging by JimVonBaden's comments we're leading the world (again)
JimVonBaden - Strangely the lack of these in the US may have something to do with the differences in our two cultures. In NZ (and I'm assuming Australia) we have something called Accident Compensation Corporation, or ACC for short. This is a "comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all New Zealand residents and visitors to New Zealand". We all pay an ACC levy as part of our taxes. If you have any sort of accident at work, home, on the road etc then this is covered by ACC. ACC covers the costs of treatment, pays you 80% of your salary while your unable to work and fixed rate compensation for any permanent injuries. A key part of this is getting you healthy so you can return to work.
Obviously from ACC's point of view prevention or mitigation is better, and cheaper, than the aftermath so they actively promote safety.
So for motorbike riders they run regular training courses and fairs, encourage the use of safer gear, etc. For example they have recently been changing the crash barriers on popular bike routes to make them more 'biker friendly' in the case of an accident.
