Testing Times

On 13th July, 2012 the European Commission published a proposal for mandatory Road Worthiness Testing (RWT). Included within that proposal the Commission called for European wide roadworthiness testing for motorcycles and scooters. There are eleven countries that do not include these vehicles within their testing regimes, in some other countries, scooters are not included and […]

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Finland On RWT

The Finnish riders’ organisation SMOTO is the latest European riders group to come out against the European Commission’s proposal for the mandatory introduction of Road Worthiness Testing (RWT) for motorcycles. On their own website SMOTO comment, “Studies have shown that the driver’s driving skills and driving behaviour explain the majority of motorcycle accidents. Roadworthiness testing […]

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Right To Report – RWT

Riders groups in the UK and the rest of Europe have started to make announcements concerning the European Commission’s proposal for periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, which includes mandatory Road Worthiness Testing (RWT) for motorcycles. These announcements are in addition to those by the riders groups from Norway (NMCU), Sweden (SMC) […]

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Supporting Brussels Protest

On July 13th, 2012 the European Commission announced a proposal for a Regulation Of The European Parliament and Of The Council on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers. As a response to this proposal, riders from three European countries that do not have road worthiness testing (RWT) are up in arms and […]

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Shouting or Educating?

Over the weekend my BMF (British Motorcyclists Federation) members’ magazine – Motorcycle Rider – slipped through the letterbox. As soon as it was removed from its plastic wrapper I leafed through to the lobby section to read up on what the BMF’s political bod Chris Hodder was up to as regarding the EU Commission regulation […]

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Washington Post

On the 15th July “The Washington Post” published an article entitled – “Britain’s continental drift away from the European Union” on its website The article states that, “Proposed new pan-European rules would forbid motorcycle owners from doctoring bikes themselves, outraging tens of thousands of British bikers and becoming the latest symbol here of continental authority […]

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Regulation – Almost There!

Concerning the Approval and Market Surveillance of 2- or 3 Wheel Vehicles and Quadricycles. We have received from the office of the IMCO Committee chairman Malcolm Harbour, the following brief: The informal trialogue negotiations between the EP and the Council have now come to a close and the responsible Member State Permanent Representatives will discuss […]

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Vehicle Registration Regulation

Coming across organisations that lobby and work within the EU legislative procedures, but do so with professionalism, is certainly a breath of fresh air. In their latest newsletter, the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA) reports that it has communicated its position on Vehicle Registration to key MEPs concerning a European Commission proposal for a […]

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UK Riders Popping Corks!

The Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA) has commented on today’s press release from the EU Commission concerning the proposal for European wide Road Worthiness Testing (RWT) for PTWs (Powered Two Wheelers – motorcycles, scooters and mopeds). The Federation continues its call for the withdrawal of the introduction of mandatory annual technical inspections for all […]

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eCall on Motorcycles

ETRA, the European Twowheel Retailers’ Association, has reported on eCall, a European wide IT system being proposed by the European Commission that would be activated automatically when in-vehicle sensors detect a serious crash. The EU Commission would like to make the system mandatory for all vehicles and to have eCall in place by 2015 on […]

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