MAGLink, April 2002
A monthly update from the Irish Motorcyclists Action Group.
The progress reported
below in promoting and protecting motorcycling has been possible because of your
support.
The Spring issue of Roadrunner has been prepared very much with the upcoming General Election in mind. In the centre pages will be found a copy of the questionnaire we hope each member will take the time to put to your local candidates when they show up on your doorstep looking for your vote. A copy of the flyer we have prepared showing the same questions and pictures has been enclosed with Roadrunner this quarter.
A word of thanks to all who participated in the preparation of the flyer and to the “models” in particular: Ros O’Neill; Timmy Rennick; Jimmy Kenny; Eoin Kirwan; Fr. Tony Conlon; Larry Dowling; Marc O’Loidean. Thanks also to Tony Glaholm who took the photographs.
The Bikers Are Voters flyer is only one aspect of the campaign. MAG has been in contact with all the major political parties in recent times both at national and European level, establishing their policies on issues affecting bikers, and lobbying on behalf of Irish motorcyclists to have our opinions heard.
This General Election is a chance for us to raise the profile of bikers among the politicians and to ensure our interests are being served by government.
Motorcyclists continue to be excluded from the list of vehicles allowed to use Bus Lanes to avoid slow moving or stationary traffic. A Press Release on this issue has been approved by the NEC for publication and is scheduled to issue in early April.
The official complaint brought by MAG Ireland against the Irish government’s failure to implement the Direct Access option allowed for in the 2nd E.U. Directive on Driver licensing has been unsuccessful. The Commission held that Direct Access was an option which individual member states have the right to provide to citizens or not as they see fit. Ireland decided not to allow Irish motorcyclists this option on the grounds of safety, despite a lack of evidence supporting this view.
An individual MAG member is to take a test case challenging the government’s non-implementation of D.A. using Equality legislation. However, it is not expected that this test case will be successful as the current legislation does not appear to offer adequate grounds for such a complaint. It is hoped that the case may provide a vehicle to raise the profile of this issue.
A third E.U. Directive on Driver Licensing is expected to issue shortly and the campaign to ensure equitable treatment for Irish motorcyclists will continue to be fought both at national and European level.
The proposal by the A.C.E.A. (Association of European Automobile Manufacturers in English) to include the installation of “hard-wired” daytime running lights (DRL) as a concession to safety has been rejected by the E.U. committee conducting the inquiry. The committee decided that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that DRL contributed anything to safety and took into account the F.E.M.A report which suggested that the introduction of DRL would actually pose a hazard to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
I have received a letter from Commissioner de Palacio indicating that the representations made by MAG Ireland and other motorcyclists’ organisations were influential in the decision to commission a study into the effects of DRL on all road users and on the relative conspicuity of motorcyclists & cyclists. The Commissioner thanked us for our contribution to the debate on this issue.
I have written to Commissioner de Palacio welcoming this study and offering any assistance we might be able to give regarding same.
Some proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Bill, 2001 currently under debate have included the introduction of DRL in the Winter months. I have contacted Deputy Denis Naughten who has made the proposal to advise him of the negative effect such a measure would have on road safety.
A new marking sheet is being introduced by the D.O.E. Driver Testing Section starting with the South East region and is to be in use throughout the country by Autumn 2002. The sheet is intended to operate as a report sheet and will be given to all candidates at the end of their test. The more detailed format of the new marking sheet is intended to provide more specific information to the candidate on his/her performance during the test and should assist instructors when giving lessons to candidates who have failed their test.
The Department will also be introducing new requirements to the test provided for in EU Directive 91/439/EEC. There will be additional requirements for several categories of vehicle; motorcyclists will be required to perform Additional Checks, i.e. Emergency Stop Switch, chain, oil levels. Additional Manoeuvres will be required: at least two slow speed manoeuvres including a slalom; at least two higher speed manoeuvres including an obstacle; at least two braking manoeuvres including emergency braking. The Additional Checks are to be implemented by September 2003 and the Manoeuvres by October 2005.
MAG welcomes these changes to the testing procedure which we have held to be inadequate for some time. However, these changes fail to address the real problem regarding driver testing and road safety, which is a lack of proper training for all road users.
A meeting was held with Malcolm Nash on 6th March 2002, Linda O’Loideon attended in my place. Linda’s report on the meeting is available.
The take-up on the MAG Ireland MBNA credit card has exceeded expections and we would like to thank all members who have availed of this offer. Those of you who haven’t yet applied, remember that 0.15% of the value of your transactions goes to support MAG – if you’re spending on your credit card, make a donation the easy way and support MAG without it costing you anything!
MAG has launched a new campaign urging companies using metal plates to cover excavations when working on roads to comply with UK and EU current practice and switch to plates coated with an aggregate material. This coating offers a much more secure surface for motorcyclists than the bare metal plates currently used and is an important step towards better road safety for motorcyclists when encountering such hazards.
We would ask any rider encountering a hazard on the road, e.g. unprotected roadworks, badly reinstated road surface, potholes etc., to complete a Road Hazard form (available from the MAG Office or downloadable from the website www.iol.ie/~maglink ), send a copy to your local authority and a copy to the MAG Office and we will follow it up from there.
Campaigns Officer, Karen Kiely and outgoing Campaigns Officer/NEC Chairperson, Herb Finnegan attended the recent NRA Hearing into the proposed M1 Toll Plaza Scheme in Drogheda on Tuesday 12th March. MAG’s case for the exclusion of motorcycles from toll charges should the Scheme be approved was presented by Herb who read a statement of MAG’s objections to the proposal and proceeded to cross-examine the NRA’s witnesses who had earlier given evidence in support of the Scheme. The environmentally-friendly nature of motorcycles and their contribution to the alleviation of congestion was presented as one of the reasons in support of an exemption together with the negligible revenue generated by tolling motorcycles at other locations. MAG’s presentation seems to have been received with interest and the NRA said later that they would be happy to meet with us to further discuss this issue.
MAG is pleased to be able to advise members that there has been a reduction in the VRT charged on motorcycles. The new rates are as follows: €2 per C.C. up to 350 C.C. and €1 per C.C. thereafter.
When calculating VRT payable on secondhand motorcycles, if the bike is under 1 year old and the mileage is less than 3,000 miles the bike is classed as new. If the motorcycle’s mileage is above 3,000 miles, it is classed as secondhand. The following sliding scale applies:
|
Age |
Deduct |
|
1-2
yrs |
20% |
|
2-3
yrs |
40% |
|
3-4
yrs |
50% |
|
4-5
yrs |
60% |
|
5-7
yrs |
70% |
|
7-10
yrs |
80% |
|
10-30
yrs |
90% |
See April issue of
RoadRunner
(Minutes are
summarised or omitted depending on resources, copy available to members from MAG
office or from the MAGLink compiler)
=============================================
1st Wednesday every
month, 7:30pm
Date and place of next
National Council meeting to be decided.
This is planned for
the last weekend in October 2002, Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh,Co. Tipperary
Watch the MAG website
http://www.iol.ie/~maglink/ for
directions and further details.
MAG Cork: Every
Tuesday at 8.30pm, Cruiscin Lan, Douglas Street
MAG Carlow: 3rd Monday
of the month, Sherrif O'Hara's, Brown St.
MAG Donegal: 1st
Monday of each month at 8pm, Road House Bar, Ballybofey
AGM February
9th
MAG Dublin: 1st
Tuesday of each month 8.30pm Strawberry Hall, Lucan,
(contact Jimmy Kenny,
01 4502330)
MAG Dublin: 3rd
Tuesday of each month 8.30pm Four Provinces, Ranelagh,
(contact Mark Newman
086 847 2746. mnewman@tramway.ie)
MAG Kerry: 1st Tuesday
of each month 9.00pm alternating between Flaherty’s in
Ardfert,
Katie Nolan’s in
Lissleton and the Golden Nugget in Killarney.
Ring Baerbel Ott to
get the correct venue (087) 297 7992
MAG Kildare: Last
Wednesday of the month, The Railway Bar, Eyre Street,
Newbridge
MAG Limerick: Meets on
the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month in Gus O'Driscolls Pub,
Corbally.
23/01, 06/02, 20/02,
06/03, 20/03, 03/04, 17/04 http://maglimerick.pitas.com/
MAG Tipperary
North/South Offaly. First meeting on Feb 21 2002 and every last Thursday of the
month at 'The Mill House', Birr Road, Roscrea on Thursday 21nd February..
Contact Keith Leaver at kleaver@gofree.indigo.ie for further
details.
MAG Cavan, Galway,
Kildare, Innishowen, Longford, Mayo, Westmeath
Venue changes. To be
confirmed. Ring rep for correct details. (See Contacts)
MAG Westmeath - meet
8pm 1st Wed every month Dolphin Bar, Edgeworthstown, Co. Westmeath
E&OE. Changes
should be advised to the MAG office or Gearoid O’Byrne at 087-2607747, maglink@magireland.iol.ie
For further details of
anything on the MAG calendar contact maglink@magireland.iol.ie
( or during office
hours MAG Office at magsupport@magireland.iol.ie
)
-----------------------------------------------------------
RoadRunner: February
15th, May 15th. August 15th, November 15th,
Letters and articles
welcome, articles with pictures very welcome.
Send submissions to herb@iol.ie
or to RoadRunner c/o MAG Office
MAGLink: Second
Wednesday in the month.
MAG Ireland encourages
event organisers to support motorcycling by offering a discount of one euro to
holders of current MAG membership cards at their events in
2002.
<See the Spring issue
of RoadRunner for the current events list>
FOR FREE
LISTING OF YOUR EVENT SEND IN DETAILS ASAP.
All Events in italics
have been notified by the Vintage & Veteran Committee.
The above information
is correct to our knowledge and belief as we got to press but MAG Ireland cannot
guarantee
its accuracy.
Details of any
additional /revised events should be advised to the MAG office or directly to
maglink@magireland.iol.ie.
MAG UK events can be
seen online at the MAG UK website http://www.mag-uk.org .
BMF events http://www.bmf.co.uk
Welsh National
Motorcycle Show
Due to the change in
the 2002 bank holiday weekend the hugely successful Welsh National Motorcycle
Show will now take place on the 31st May - 3rd June 2002 at the Royal
Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, Mid Wales.
The Farmyard Party
will be held at Duncombe Park near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, on 21st - 23rd
June 2002.
For more details
contact the MAG UK press office on 0208 556 6495
Free entry for MAG
Ireland members
12th 13th & 14th
July Donington Park, Special deal for MAG members, campsite, bands,
practice (for 25 pounds in
advance). Ring +44 8701 696805 with your membership
number.
FEMA festival :
Koksijde Belgian Coast. weekend of 20/21/22 september 2002
The Farmyard Party
will be held at Duncombe Park near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, on 21st - 23rd
June 2002.
For more details
contact the MAG UK press office on +44 208 556 6495 or check
www.yorkshire.mag-uk.org/farmyard_party.htm
NORGESTREFFET is
Norway's largest motorcycle rally, with some 2-3000 participants. The rally is
organised by NMCU (MAG in Norway) in cooperation with a member club. This year's
rally is hosted by Sandnes MC, a club from the south-western part of Norway.
NORGESTREFFET 2002 will be held in Sandnes, near the city of Stavanger, on 13th
- 16th June 2002.
To be eligible riders
must present a current passport from their country of origin with a matching
membership card for a national FEMA member organisation, such as MAG Ireland,
SMOTO or SMC. They must also be riding a bike with a registration plate from
their country of origin. More information will come on http://www.sandnesmc.com/
and http://www.nmcu.org/
* A nationwide
organisation representing your interests as a rider
* RoadRunner
Magazine
* BikeShop Discounts,
Full list in RoadRunner or on website
http://www.iol.ie/~maglink
* Motorcycle
Insurance
* Local Groups -
Social Activity and Local Representation
* Information Service,
(Info sheets, MAGLink and advice)
* MAG
Products
* Training
discounts
* Discounts on the
entry fee to participating motorcyclist events
* Route Planning
Service
* Discounts on VHI
Health Insurance, Ferries, Accident Insurance and Breakdown
Cover.
* MAG Credit Card.
Competitive credit facility which also makes a small donation to MAG with each
transaction.
The discounts alone
will save you much more than the membership fee every
year.
Membership costs £20
per annum, with reductions for young riders, partners and for payment by
standing order.
To join now ring the
MAG Office on (01) 4530797. Credit cards accepted.
MAG UK's done it again
- all the excitement of the British Grand Prix plus two days of practice, live
bands and party Friday and Saturday night, exclusive MAG campsite and bar all
for an amazing £25 sterling and this offer is available to MAG UK and MAG
Ireland members.
Donington Park 12th
13th & 14th July Ticket Hotline call 00 44 8701 696805 and quote your
membership number. (MAG UK or MAG Ireland). Tickets £25 in advance only (closes
June 30th - no ticket sales on gate) subject to a booking
fee
Further details of
this and other MAG events at http://mag-uk.org/events
* Events
Insurance
Public Liability Cover for your rally or event. Currently cover
stands at under IR 60 for a one-off event of up to 5 days such as a rally. Due
to circumstances affecting the insurance underwriting industry at present,
please contact the
MAG office for
information on the availability of events insurance."
* Monthly MAG Events
Calendar Update by Post
* Events
Advertising
As an additional benefit to affiliated clubs only, MAG are
offering substantial discounts to advertise their rally in Roadrunner.
Roadrunner is Ireland's largest circulation motorcycle magazine and goes out to
over 4000 Irish motorcyclists every quarter. See below for
details
Club affiliation costs
€
25.40 per annum.
MAG currently has
information sheets on:
Accidents a Legal
Perspective, Anti Theft, Member Benefits, Bike Promotion, Bike Rental, Discount
Shops, Drink Driving, Driving Test, Events Insurance, FEMA, Group Riding,
Importing a Bike, IrishTouring,
Licence Regulations, Long Distance Riding, MAG History, New Member, Ride Safely,
Local Groups, European Lobbying. Training, Motorcycle Awareness, Type Approval,
MAG Structure, What is MAG, Perception of Motorcycles as Unsafe, Consumer Rights
for Motorcyclists
MAG’s Information
Sheets can be found at the MAG website.
MAG also issues a
computer CD which contains the reps handbooks, info sheets, local group report
template and useful forms such as road hazard reporting and membership. There's
also a very wide selection of research and motorcycle promotion material useful
when lobbying and for background information. Copy one from your local group or
contact the MAG Office.
------------------------------------------------
ZIPPO lighters = €
25.40 (Brass with MAG
LOGO)
Hooded
Sweatshirts = € 25.40 each (Black,Zipped,MAG
logo)
Premium T- shirts = € 12.70 each (Black with MAG
logo)
Nectectors
= € 12.70 each (Red or Black tubular
neckwarmers)
Baseball Caps =
€ 12.70 each (Black cloth, with MAG
logo)
MAG Ireland Yellow
Visibility Waistcoats = IR 12.00 each
MAG EIRE, RIDE FREE
Patches =
€ 3.80 each
RIDE FREE Adhesive
stickers =
€ 1.80 each
1999,2000, 2001
Members’ Metal Badges = € 2.56 each
2002 Green Enamel
badge
= € 3.80 each
MAG embossed Leather
Keyfob = € 2.56 each
BOOKS
Pass Your Advanced
Driving Test = € 12.70 each
Motorcycle
Roadcraft
= € 17.00 each
There is a Mail Order
packing & postage charge of € 3.80 on the Hooded Sweatshirts & of
€ 1.28 on the waistcoats. All other items are
including postage by ordinary post. These exclusive products are available from
your local Group, direct from the MAG Office, or from our new MAG Products
Outlet Shop, Kilkenny Camping & Water-sports Centre, U24 The Arcade, High
Street, Kilkenny. Save postage by shopping locally.
Profits from the sale
of MAG Products goes directly to campaigning for Riders
Rights.
---------------------------------------------------
Roadrunner
is Ireland's largest circulation motorcycle magazine and is mailed directly to
over 5000 Irish motorcyclists every quarter. If you want the Irish motorcycling
world to know about something (your shop, your sale, your club, your product,
your event,…) then advertising in RoadRunner is the way to tell
them.
Single
Colour Advertising Rates -
Full Page,
Front Inner Cover
€ 481
Full Page,
Rear Inner Cover
€ 481
Full Page,
Back Cover
€ 500
TWO CENTRE
PAGES
€ 709
Full Page
(8" x 11.5")
€ 448.71
¾ Page (8"
x 8")
€ 337.17
½ Page (8"
x 5.75")
€ 224.36
¼ Page
(3.75" x 5.75")
€ 112.82
1/8 Page
(3.75" x 2.75")
€ 56.41
Two issues
10%, three issues 15%, four issues 20%
MAG
Discount shops: additional 10% discount.
More than
four issues, contact RoadRunner for special rates.
* Events
Advertising
As an additional benefit to affiliated clubs only, MAG are
offering substantial discounts to advertise their rally in Roadrunner. The
reduced rates for one issue are as follows:
Full Page
€ 253.95
Half Page
B&W -
€ 126.97
Quarter Page B&W
€ 63.49
---------------------------------------------------
(Composed of elected
officers and responsible for the day to day running of
MAG)
Eoin Kirwan: Chairman,
IT Officer, Transport: 087 6166207
eoin@bikerider.com
Linda O’Loideoin:
Treasurer, Member Queries/Consumer Issues
Jimmy Kenny: Product
and Process Officer 01 4502330
Gearóid O Byrne: Local
Groups Liaison maglink@magireland.iol.ie
David French: European
Liaison, Safety Officer +49 711 5590511 davidfrench@bikerider.com
Herb Finnegan:
RoadRunner Liaison herb@iol.ie
The National Council
(NC) is composed of elected county representatives and responsible for the
overall running of MAG. Unless a county position of "NC representative" is
elected the county chairperson is on the NC.
MAG
Carlow:
Ger FitzGibbons 087 6781688 sner@oceanfree.net
MAG Cavan
Chair: Declan
Brady 049 8640031
MAG Cork
Chair: Ger
Donnelly 087 2354820 donely@esatclear.ie
Treasurer: Martin
O'Driscoll
Committee member:
David Robinson
MAG Donegal
Contact: Marty Boyle
martyboyle@unison.ie
, magdonegal@yahoo.com
MAG Dublin
Chair: Jimmy
Kenny
01
4502330
MAG Galway
Chair:John Brinn 093 24694 (JJ Finn 086
8182188)
MAG Innishowen (region within
Donegal)
Chair: Andy
Robertson 077 76
054
MAG Kerry
Chair: Baerbel
Ott
087 2977992 baerbel_ott@hotmail.com
MAG Kildare
Chair: Joe Swords 086
8974259 joeswords@tattoos.com
joe@bastardbrothers.org
Secretary: BJ Martin
086 4006279 thedok@cyberdude.com
thedok@bastardbrothers.org
Treasurer: Dave Browne
087 6523582
Information Officer
Dave Keeley 087 2692180 davkee@esatclear.ie
bear@bastardbrothers.org
Events Secretary: Ivor
Hemmingway 086 8150410
Road Hazards Officer:
Karen Kiely 086 8632444
MAG Limerick
Chairman - Don
Moloney. moz@iol.ie
Secretary - Alec
Quinn.
Treasurer - Keith
McGlynn. keg_zl750@yahoo.co.uk
PRO - Sharon Curtin.
yamxv250@yahoo.co.uk
Clubs liason officer -
Karl Murphy. crashtestdummy@oceanfree.net
NC rep - Don
Moloney.
MAG
Leitrim
Conan Duignan conan99@eircom.net
MAG
Longford
Sean
Mulroy
MAG Mayo
Chair: Robert
Gibbons 094 22118 smartart@iol.ie
MAG Sligo
Chair: Eoin
Lappin
071 43758 e_lappin@hotmail.com
, Sligo_mag@yahoo.co.uk
www.geocities.com\sligo_mag
MAG Tipperary
North/South Offaly. Keith Leaver at kleaver@gofree.indigo.ie
MAG Westmeath
Chair: Greg
Lennon 0902
72578 gregorylennon@hotmail.com
MAG
Wexford
Paul O’Dwyer
086-2686091 froggieod@yahoo.com
Keith Lever kleaver@gofree.indigo.ie
The remaining counties
are currently not represented on the National Council. If you are interested in
assisting please contact the MAG Office or the Local Group & Clubs Liaison
Gearoid O’Byrne at 087-2607747, maglink@magireland.iol.ie
Karen Kiely:
National Campaigns Officer and RoadRunner Editor- 086 8632444
karenkiely@eircom.net
Herb Finnegan: RoadRunner Editor - 087
6790908 herb@iol.ie
Liz Keane
Office Assistant
1b Ring Terrace,
Inchicore, Dublin 8.
Tel: 01 453 0797 Fax: 01 453 3643
Before ringing the MAG
office please consider if it wouldn't be better ringing your MAG representative,
the DOE Driver Testing Section, your local motorcycle dealer or the Yellow Pages
first. The MAG Office will help with your queries where possible but doing so
reduces the time available to administer MAG for everyone's
benefit.
Website: http://www.iol.ie/~maglink
Bank Standing orders are by far the
easiest way for MAG members to pay their subscription. They are also much
cheaper and quicker for the MAG office to process. MAG is now passing these savings onto
its members. As well as offering three months free membership for members who
take out a standing order, MAG has decided to introduce a “fiver back” promotion
- any MAG member who gets a friend to sign up for a standing order will get a
fiver (€6.35) back in cash.
This means that if all
the members of a club of twenty people decide to support MAG with bank standing
orders and name their treasurer as recruiter then the club will receive one
hundred pounds (128 Euro) from MAG.
Full details,
conditions and bank standing order forms are available from the MAG
office.
MAGLink is provided free of charge as a service
to motorcycling.
MAG Ireland cannot
accept any responsibility or liability for any errors or
omissions
MAGLink April 2002, compiled by David French (dfrench@s.netic.de) © Copyright : MAG Ireland