Policy Briefings

Tuesday, 02, Dec 2008 05:26

Road Safety

The UK has some of the safest roads in Europe. That said, the accident rate among vulnerable road users, e.g. pedestrians, cyclists, moped, scooter and motorcycle riders is still too high. In 2000 there were more than 90,000 casualties among vulnerable road user groups.

Bike riders (on a motorcycle or scooter), are often all too keen to blame the other driver but while in urban areas, the other driver is often proved to blame, in 60% of rural bike accidents, there was no other vehicle Involved.

The BMF say that a more responsible attitude from all road users will improve everyone's safety on the road.

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

In 1998, the Integrated Transport White Paper saw motorcycles scooters and mopeds included for the first time in the mainstream transport agenda. This has led to other positive measures such as references in Government advisory papers and consideration by local authorities in their transport plans and strategies.

With this recognition comes responsibility including the powered two-wheeler¹s interface with Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). The BMF wants PTWs to be included in the ITS debate so we don't find ourselves excluded from certain areas by default. This is why we are members of the Intelligent Transport Society of the United Kingdom

Rights Of Way

After 100 years, during which time the highways and byways of England and Wales have been explored and enjoyed by generations of motorcyclists and to a lesser extent, motorists, a proposal, ‘Use of mechanically propelled vehicles on Rights of Way’, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), looks set to change the face of recreational motorcycling for ever.

This change is part of the fallout from the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 – the Act that introduced the ‘right to roam’ for hikers across thousands of square miles of private land – and is largely driven by a vocal and influential minority that wants motorcycles and cars out of ‘their’ countryside. But motorcyclists are not entirely innocent victims.

Over recent years there has been a noticeable upsurge in the levels of illegal use of the countryside – particularly by some motorcyclists and 4wd urban cowboys – and the use of some green roads in the countryside is exceeding sustainable levels. This illegal, or legal but questionable, motorcycling is a very real problem in places – but in seeking to combat it effectively, the Countryside Minister Rt Hon Alun Michael MP appears to be conflating the bad activities with responsible use of the countryside, and is proposing changes that will hit the law-abiding, while probably doing little against the cowboy. This is reminiscent of post-Dunblane gun controls – target shooters had their sport destroyed, whilst the rise in gun crime continues at an ever-higher rate.

Diesel Spills

Concerned about the persistent problem of diesel spillage, the BMF is calling for a tightening up of all legislation affecting the fuelling of diesel-powered vehicles. The BMF successfully instigated a Lord's debate on the issue, calling for a duty of care in relation to the clear up of diesel spills to be included within the Traffic Management Bill.

Problem areas range from driver error in overfilling or not securing caps, to poorly designed or badly maintained tanks. The BMF message to diesel powered vehicle owners and operators remains clear and simple - check that fuel caps are replaced correctly, don't overfill tanks and repair any defect in the fuel filling system immediately.

The BMF successfully lobbied for a revision of 'Stats 19' (The Department of Transport's accident report form) to include diesel contamination as a factor. The BMF continues to monitor and record evidence of diesel spillage and wants riders to inform them of incidences giving: location; date; on roundabouts or bends; nearness to bus/lorry depots; vehicle type if known; injury sustained; period off work; cost of machine damage; damage/injury to others; action taken by themselves or others after the event.

Motorcycle Parking

The BMF Parking for Motorcycles and Scooters Information Pack is the definitive guide that answers a range of questions on motorcycle and scooter parking.

Presented in a folder format the Information Pack is equally useful to the motorcyclist lobbying a local authority or the practitioner seeking advice on motorcycle and scooter parking.

The core documents, BMF Parking for Motorcycles and Scooters Resource Guide, the DTLR Traffic Advisory Leaflet Motorcycle Parking and the MCIA SMART Toolkit on Motorcycle Parking are available for download from this site.

The Use Of Dark Visors

The British Motorcyclists Federation has been actively campaigning to legalise the use of helmet visors with tints of less than 50% light transmittance.

We have made representations on the subject at the BSI Eye Protector Committee and at the Government Advisory Group on Motorcycling and continue to be dismayed by the constant delays in resolving the situation. The decision of the overwhelming majority of members of the committee to permit visors with greater than 18% light transmittance in 1997 was overruled by government. Recent research has been of questionable value since it has used a statistically insignificant population for its 'survey' in which oblique questions were asked and it undertook testing of tinted visors in low ambient light conditions. Yet the intention was supposed to be that heavy tints are used to protect riders against glare. We are, therefore, seriously concerned by DFT's role in this whole affair.

Motorcycle Theft

While welcoming the publication of the Home Office’s first Bike Theft Index, the BMF nevertheless warns of possible complacency amongst the owners of high value machines.

A long-time campaigner for greater bike security, the BMF, launched its own ‘Don’t Be a Loser’ campaign but said that the new index, while a step in the right direction, does not give riders enough information.

The index shows that for the period 1st Jan 2000 to 31st December 2000, of the 1,158,454 motorcycles registered for the road, 36,822 (3.2%), were stolen. This compares well with the 34,000 quoted by the BMF, but by highlighting scooter and moped theft, the index tends to concentrate on volumes not values say the BMF.

Such bare and unqualified statistics could lead to complacency amongst motorcyclists; especially those riding popular, high value machines say the BMF.

The BMF are now calling for the manufacturer listing to be broadened to a model by model breakdown with a risk factor applied to each model (as in the well established car index), together with regular updates, again as with the car index.

Vat on Helmets

UK users of two wheeled motor vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, currently enjoy relief from Value Added Tax (VAT) when purchasing new protective helmets, but this is under threat.

This zero rating, which within the European Union (EU) is unique to the UK, is granted under a EU transitional derogation granted in 1991. The purchase of a protective helmet requires a considerable financial effort. This can be an obstacle especially for people with less disposable income and for young riders, the UK VAT derogation therefore has a considerable effect in reducing the point of sale prices of helmets.

The BMF has consistently sought a review of VAT charged for two wheeled motor vehicle related products and services in particular a zero rate for other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) i.e. replacement visors, and CE approved gloves, boots and clothing. It become apparent that the only practical way to achieve this goal was to ensure that motorcycle PPE be included in Annex H (the list of supplies of goods and services to which reduced VAT rates may be applied) of the Sixth VAT-Directive 77/388/EEC. This Directive is currently under review by Mr Frits Bolkestein Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union. To that end the BMF co-operated with the Federation of European Motorcycle Associations (FEMA) to lobby the Commission, this work culminated in the deliver of a FEMA position paper to Commissioner Bolkestein in June 2003.