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EUROPEAN BANDWAGON MOVES AGAINST MOTORCYCLING The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has condemned the latest EU decision on motorcycle licensing which has shown the bureaucrats in their true colours. MAG says, ''This is total war!'' The EU has rammed through the Directive in a way that shows contempt for motorcyclist''s views. They want bikes off the road. The safety bureaucrats have become target obsessed, setting accident reduction targets using statistics that are baloney. They have totally lost a sense of balance between riders’ reasonable expectations for mobility and the prevention of accidents. To real enthusiasts who would clear any hurdle to get a licence it might seem inconceivable that legislation would really stop anyone getting on two wheels but past experience proves otherwise. The trouble is that the safety bureaucrats know that not all riders are enthusiasts, they know that many people will be put off by a draconian training regime, so that is what they have concocted. This isn''t rocket science but it is effective. The 1981 Transport Act in the UK sent bike sales into freefall and these people know that and want to produce the same effect across Europe. Many riders who already have licenses might question why they should care. MAG cares because MAG always takes the long view. MAG defends motorcycling and recognises that the licence directive is just one weapon in the safety bureaucrat''s armoury that is designed to stop young people taking up motorcycling. There is no limit to the zealots’ appetite for accident reduction, they are pursuing a 50% reduction in road accident fatalities by 2010 and they see motorcyclists as an obstacle to achieving that. European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot recently stated, “We have 6% more deaths since the year 2000 caused by motorbikes. We have to take very targeted action there.” His biased statement conflicts with research which indicates that the primary blame for accidents with motorcycles and other vehicles lies with the other vehicle driver at least 40% of the time. Given that it is MAG''s opinion that the emphasis should be on other vehicle drivers yet the directive does not address car drivers via the licensing ''regime'' for these vehicles. MAG suspects that the extremists in the road safety lobby cannot be appeased on the basis of accident reduction alone, they have to be philosophically and politically defeated. We have to be more determined to preserve biking than they are to destroy it. MAG defends the right to ride motorcycles and we will protect for that right forever. We are now engaged in a game of survival of the most determined and the European Commission is going to learn how determined MAG is.
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