PETITION NOW CLOSED!
The proposals for new Framework regulations continues in its progress through the European legislative system which we say is a case of, “Strangulation and not Regulation”, for motorcycles.
MEP Wim van de Camp, as Rapporteur, in charge of looking at the proposal for the European Parliament has presented reporst to The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) and representatives of the European Commission regarding the EU Commission’s proposal for a regulation on type-approval and market surveillance of L (motorcycles) -category vehicles.
The IMCO committee in Brussels, who are overseeing the proposals from the European Commission, has met at various times to discuss the proposed new regulations of two and three wheeled vehicles – motorcycles. The meetings aimed to consider the safety, environmental and economic issues relating to these proposals and various stakeholders, (some claiming to represent motorcyclists), have been given the opportunity to speak.
On the 24th May as Rapporteur for the IMCO, Wim van de camp, MEP from the Netherlands and an aficionado of motorcycling, presented his draft report with amendments to the Commission’s proposals. His report will steer the European Parliament when they vote on the proposals in October (TBC).
According to the present timeline the deadline for ammendments was the 20th June 2011, these ammendments are to be considered at an IMCO meeting on the 12th July 2011 and to be voted on at a further meeting taking place over the 5th – 6th October 2011.
IMCO Website – Click Here
The Basics
The Commission’s proposals aimed to reduce emissions through a series of time lines to bring these vehicles in line with car emissions standards.
Their proposals then entered into the realm of “safety”.
The view of the Commission is by and large, a reflection of the general view held by the establishment with regards to motorcycles, i.e. that this form of transport not only pollutes but is dangerous, it and is responsible for a high proportion of deaths on European roads.
Consequently the Commission proposed to make Advanced Braking Systems (ABS) mandatory, Automatic Headlights On (AHO) mandatory and introduce anti-tampering measures of the power train – to stop riders from modifying their motorcycles.
These proposals are for new motorcycles manufactured after a certain date – there are no proposals at present for these regulations to be imposed retrospectively – to motorcycles already manufactured – thus what we fighting for is the future of motorcycling!
For more information on the proposal visit – EU Regulating Biking – Regulation Adoption – The Fight Is On
The Petition
Here at Right To Ride we keep our ears close to the ground and as individual riders we believe that we have the right to oppose the parts of Framework Regulations that we disagree with, such as mandatory ABS, mandatory AHO, mandatory On Board Diagnostics (OBD) and the extension of anti-tampering measures, just to name a few.
However we can only go so far within the system and although we have been in direct contact and have been invited to “side meetings” we cannot become involved in official meetings with DG Enterprise and Industry as European Citizens because we do not have representation in Brussels.
So what can we do as ordinary riders?
Well we can side step the system and as European citizens, we can publicise and promote our own concerns to other like minded riders and let the IMCO committee and Wim van de Camp be aware of our concerns.
The proposals of the regulations are complex. Equally, the progress through the system is complex with meetings of the Motorcycle Working Group, other interested parties and The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO).
This is where the Framework Regulation is sitting at present and being discussed. Stakeholders are being consulted, reports prepared, horse trading with the various lobby groups and unpublicised meetings are being arranged between EU parliamentarians and riders representatives.
The European Commission claims that their additional proposals will greatly improve motorcycle safety without providing sound evidence to support their proposals.
Background
Wim van de Camp (Dutch MEP) is the rapporteur of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) for the regulation on the approval and market surveillance of two and three wheel vehicles and quadricycles. He is a biker and has a good understanding of the issues. He has visited motorcycle manufacturers to get their point of view, but he needs input from riders.
The EU Parliament Internal Market Committee meets on 11th April 2001 to put together a report. Please sign this petition, which we will send to Mr van de Camp so that he is aware of the views of motorcyclists in Europe.
Petition:
We the undersigned, believe that the extension of anti-tampering measures is unnecessary. The proposal is based on a study by TUV (Germany) which was unable to provide any evidence that tampering is widespread. In fact the Commission recognised this fact and is carrying out another study to justify their proposal. This suggests that their proposal was founded on “what a good idea” rather than evidence.
The proposals of the EU Commission to make compulsory ABS brakes and On Board Diagostics (OBD), will have devastating consequences on the industry in terms of costs and thus drive up the cost of purchasing a motorcycle. The Commission’s proposals would effectively undermine the industry, which is struggling to recover from the economic downturn.
The case for mandatory Automatic Headlights On by the Commission is based purely on safety reasons, yet there is no compelling evidence that permanent headlights on will have any effect on casualty reductions, rather it seems that the purpose is to reduce competition from manufacturers outside Europe that do not include AHO on their motorcycles.
On the website (DG Enterprise and Industry), it states that the European Commission aims to promote successful entrepreneurship and improve the business environment for SMEs, to allow them to realise their full potential in today’s global economy.
In the case of small businesses in Annex III the Commission proposes to lower the limit units for small series to 50 for motorcycles and trikes (L3e and L5Ae) and to 100 for side cars (L4e). The current units allowed are 200 units for small series (see Directive 2002/24/EC Article 15 (3) a (i)).
We believe that this restriction would in fact significantly cripple small series motorcycle, tricycle and sidecar manufacturers.
