Motorcycle Test Review - Time To Be Heard says BMF

Friday, 9 July 2010 12:00 AM

Motorcycle Test Review - Time To Be Heard says bmf

The British Motorcyclists Federation is urging motorcyclist to contribute to the Government's review of the controversial motorcycle test procedure now imposed on British motorcycling.

The review, with a closing date of 31st July, was prompted by the outcry from the motorcycle community on the bungled implementation of the new test, supported by the highly critical report from the Transport Select Committee*.

When he announced the review last month, the new Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Mike Penning, said that he wanted to hear from as many people as possible 'as there may be scope for some changes to the way in which the test is carried out' and he accepted that: "The new two-part motorcycle test has clearly led to some concern amongst motorcycle groups, particularly about the safety of the off-road module 1 part of the test and about the difficulty of accessing the limited number of off-road test centres."

The bmf fully supports the Transport Secretary's initiative and urges motorcyclists and other interested parties to contribute to the review by emailing the Department for Transport on RUSD4consultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk by 31 July.

Commenting on the review, the bmf's Government Relations Executive Chris Hodder said: "Riders rarely get a chance to literally tell the government what they're doing wrong let alone getting a genuine promise that they'll listen and do something about it, so it would be a great shame to let this opportunity go to waste."

Those responding to the review are also invited to give their views about how the next directive, the 3rd Driving Licence Directive, should be implemented in 2013. Currently, the government is planning to make riders progress to the top category licence by taking the same test three times on three increasingly larger capacity machines, however, the bmf considers that tailored training is a better way to improve riding standards and would be more accessible.

Notes:
The new test procedure and two-part motorcycle test was introduced in April 2009 in order to meet the requirements of the second EU Directive on driving licences, but while many elements of the test are required by the Directive, the bmf say that there was 'gold plating' of the requirements by the last government resulting in the introduction of large Multi Purpose Test Centres (MPTCs) and the closing down of many small, convenient motorcycle test sites.

The Select Committee report can be found here.

The DfT review announcement can be found here

Ends

Issued by Jeff Stone: t: 0121 709 1040 m: 07802 763094 e: jeff.stone@bmf.co.uk
Details on this and other bmf activities can also be found on our web site: www.bmf.co.uk

bmf (Enterprises) Ltd, 3 Oswin Road, Brailsford Industrial Estate, Braunstone, Leics, LE3 1HR.
Company Registration No. - 00982171 VAT - 765330921

Tags: