MAG EU Licence demo

The Motorcycle Action Group is calling for bikers to join a protest demo in Birmingham on Saturday, July 1, aimed at changing the European licensing proposals.

The proposals have angered MAG, the British Motorcycle Federation, and the Federation of European motorcyclsists Associations. And the demo is supported by Philip Bradbourn MEP, who is a member of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee.

MAG is calling for all riders to join the demo, which also celebrates the MAG West Midlands 29th Brum Demo and the Heart of England Motorcycle Rally. The ride is a response to the 3rd European Driving Licence Directive which attempts to cut accidents by effectively making it more difficult to get on a bike.

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The current proposals include raising the age for Direct Access tests to 24, and for progressive access, there will be a rigid two year period between categories.

To download a demo pack, click here (external site). And to sign MAG’s petition, click here.

The BMF has also attacked the changes as ‘gold plating’ motorcycle licences by making them more expensive to complete than neccessary, increasing fees by £3 in April 2007 and again in 2008. The new test will also require a purpose-built surfaced area roughly the size of a premier league football pitch. And the DSA is now insisting on four distinct manoeuvres, rather than the two dictated by the proposal.