NMC urges UK government to listen to motorcycle licence advice
After the EU ignored widespread advice on motorcycle licence and safety reforms, the NMC hopes the UK won’t do the same
YESTERDAY the news broke that the EU Parliament had ignored widespread advice from lobby groups across Europe and the UK on revamping now out-of-date motorcycle licence legislation.
The article covering that story can be found here, along with a supporting page outlining exactly what the European Commission did/didn’t do can be found here. In short, the NMC asked to streamline testing and training, putting an emphasis on on-road testing and risk assessment. Predictably, the European Commission ignored the advice, basically leaving testing and training in the same place it has been for quite a few years.
Now the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) have called for the UK government to take the lead on motorcycle testing and training, and not let the chance to update legislation pass us by. It highlights the UK has ‘slipped down the road safety rankings’ compared to European counterparts, dropping from first to fifth based on accident data, and claims this is the UK’s chance to turn that around and become ‘leaders in motorcycle safety policy’.
A statement on the NMC website includes a statement from NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch said:
“The NMC is in active discussion with the Department for Transport and its agencies on a range of measures that will make a real difference to safety. Fundamental to this is the recognition of motorcycling as a positive component in current and future transport policies, as this will unlock safety investment both nationally and locally which can be targeted on rider-friendly road infrastructure, education of all road users and positive measures for mobility by those who chose to ride. The UK is also in a position to revise training and testing regulations so that high standards can be linked to an updated regime which is easier for novice riders to understand and easier to access, as set out in the NMC’s proposals.
“The Government’s new Motorcycle Strategic Focus Group is a very positive first step towards creating better overall transport and road safety policies and we will be urging the group to consider where the UK can become world leaders in creating proactive policies towards motorcycle use and safety.”
You can check out the full article from the NMC here.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
