He was responding to proposed changes to vehicle licensing levies, which could result in motorcyclists paying as much as $500 more a year to ACC, while car owners would pay about $30 more.
ACC says motorcyclists are 16 times more likely than car drivers to be involved in accidents.
Mr Searls believed this figure was misleading, as the majority of accidents involving motorcycles were caused by car drivers, and thought clearer figures would show that.
"Even if they did manage to do that, is their approach not akin to shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted? Aren't they about accident prevention?"As a Ride Right Otago volunteer, Mr Searls applauded the ACC-funded training course as it was "an example of where they are getting it right" and wanted to see more money go into making training compulsory.
"On the one hand they are awesome, but on the other hand they are robbing me," he said.
Motorcycle Replacements owner Rick Jamieson believed the proposed increases were unfair and would "cripple the industry".
"It does appear that we are unfairly disadvantaged because we are the minority group."
Mandatory riding lessons were more worthwhile because everyone was actively interested in improving their riding, he said.
SPV (Special Purpose Vehicles) owner Dennis Ireland believed the Government had not used logic or reasoning in the proposed changes.
The accident statistics were "bent" and he said it was usually car drivers who caused accidents and motorcyclists who were injured.
"Motorcyclists have always copped a raw deal."
Automobile Association motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon described the proposed increase as "substantial" and said the organisation supported collecting a levy "at the pump, rather than at registration".
He believed the size of the increase indicated the true cost of poor road safety and should act as a wake-up call.
"It's just confirmation that we can't afford the level of road trauma that we are certainly getting on our roads. We have to do much better than we have been with our new road safety strategy."
