21/08/2003 Immediate Release
MAG Ireland calls for training for all road users
MAG Ireland, the association representing Ireland's moped, scooter and
motorcycle riders, calls for compulsory training for all new road users as
the best way to reduce fatalities among motorcyclists.
"While improving motorcycle safety is one of MAG Ireland's major concerns
-
to this end MAG Ireland established the Irish Rider Training Association to
provide a network of highly qualified instructors - imposing compulsory
basic training on motorcyclists alone will not address the biggest hazard
which riders face, which is the behaviour of other road users", said
Karen
Kiely, MAG Ireland's National Campaigns Officer.
The insurance industry's own figures state that in 75% of collisions
between motorcycles and other vehicles, the rider of the motorcycle is not
to blame; yet riders, as well as being forced to accept extortionate
insurance premiums, are now being targeted as the only road user group to
be compelled to take basic training. With the high numbers of provisional
licences holders, both in cars and on motorcycles, an average waiting time
of nine months for a driving test, and the current system where driving
test candidates who are considered incompetent to hold a full licence
allowed to remain on the road unhindered, it is outrageous to single out
motorcyclists for compulsory basic training.
The driving test, for both cars and motorcycles, needs to be reformed
urgently and lengthy waiting lists must be eliminated. The current
motorcycle test, where the tester follows in a car rather than on another
motorcycle is particularly inadequate for modern traffic conditions.
The overall low standard of driving in this country needs radical
improvement. Penalty points will only go so far when many road users are
not familiar with the Rules of the Road - which itself has not been revised
in over ten years.
MAG Ireland calls for the following:
* Driving test reform to eliminate excessive waiting lists, and the rapid
introduction of a modern test for motorcyclists.
* Compulsory basic training for all road users before obtaining their first
provisional licence.
* Introduction of compulsory L-plates for provisional motorcycle licence
holders.
* Enforcement of the existing driver licensing laws for all classes of
vehicle.
* Introduction of Direct Access motorcycle licensing into Ireland as in the
rest of the EU, which requires training to be taken before the granting of
an unrestricted motorcycle licence.
* The theory test and practical test for car drivers to reinforce the
importance of awareness of motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians as
vulnerable road users.
* The rapid introduction of an updated 'Rules of the Road' booklet, which
is currently more than ten years out of date.
"Successive governments have ignored the issue of road safety. While
Minister Brennan has introduced some much-needed reform, there is still a
great deal to be done, and knee-jerk proposals targeting motorcyclists are
not the answer. While we in MAG Ireland do all we can to encourage
motorcyclists to ride responsibly and take training, the behaviour of other
road users remains a major hazard to riders and this problem must be
addressed."