Hey EU! Hands off my bike!

EU – Hands Off My Bike!

Join with us in supporting FEMA’s campaign to prevent periodic technical inspections (NCT for bikes) from being foisted upon bikers across Europe.

See the FEMA web site here;
http://www.fema-online.eu/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01ar…

From the FEMA web site;

Dear readers,

Brussels rouses from slumber. While many of us were still enjoying trips on two wheels through our peaceful and exciting Europe, the laptops in the European Commission had been restarted already and the officials remembered immediately what they have been focusing on before the summer break: motorcycling!

In concrete terms: Road Safety Programme, technical inspections, rules for type approval.

The announcement of the Road Safety Programme already dispersed any hopes that the core problems regarding motorcycle safety will be tackled. Instead of encouraging the countries of the EU to install safe guardrails, to maintain roads properly and, critically, to raise other motorists’ awareness, we are required to solve our problems by ourselves. Automatic Headlamp on, mandatory ABS, extended periodic technical inspection and updated anti-tampering measures are the Commissions’ suggestions to improve our safety.

Most probably, these measures will soon be proposed to the Parliament and to the Council, where each member state has a say. FEMA fears that for a non-motorcyclist these measures might sound quite reasonable, therefore we have decided to illuminate the public. Not only that but the proposed measures are merely scratching the surface, some of them can be expected to be expensive and have no positive outcome at all.

This special issue newsletter exclusively deals with Periodic Technical Inspections. Read why it is naïve to assume that regular checks will lessen the accident rates. We also present the official FEMA position on the topic, report about interest groups pressuring for the inclusion of motorcycles into inspection schemes and the actions FEMA is taking.

I would also like to invite you to visit our PTI campaign website and to join us on facebook!

Ride free,

Chris Hodder
Member of the Board of Directors of FEMA