EU licence battle looms

The UK’s bike industry is calling on the Government to use its Presidency of the European Union to rule out the madness looming over new bike licence rules.

Proposals being considered in Europe’s ‘Third Directive on Driving Licences’ look set to make it tougher than ever for new riders to get on to two wheels within six years.

The Motorcycle Industry Association says the proposals for motorcycling are among the most draconian ever seen.

Key proposals include:

Minimum age for riding bikes larger than 125cc likely to rise from 17 to 19

Direct Access to larger bikes not allowed until 24 (currently 21)

New categories of motorcycle riding licences creating several two-year ‘steps’ between bikes of different engine size

Riders required to complete extra riding tests between ‘steps’.

MCI’s Craig Carey-Clinch said; “Once again Brussels is ignoring road safety evidence so that it can simply blame motorcyclists for motorcycle accidents, while ignoring the deficiencies of other road users.

“New car drivers will not face such heavy-handed treatment despite their frequent involvement in road accidents. These new proposals are unfair, unjustified, discriminatory and simply not acceptable to the UK motorcycle community.

“The motorcycle industry and rider groups in Europe have proposed a set of amendments to the Directive and MCI strongly urges to the UK Government to table these and put an end to this Euro madness.

“We hear a lot these days about how the Government is using its influence to ensure a fair deal for UK citizens as part of its EU Presidency. It’s time that ministers put their money where their mouths are and make sure that we get a fair deal for motorcycling, which allows biking to develop as an alternative to the car – as promised by the Government in their recently published motorcycling strategy.”