New EU legislation nearly there
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:02 am
MEPs have passed the draft through yesterday. Now it has to be agreed by member states before it becomes binding. Includes ABS, lighting and emissions.
New rules designed to make motorbikes 'safer and greener' have got the thumbs up from MEPs in Strasbourg.
Members approved the rules in a vote in parliament on Tuesday. They are to apply to all powered two- and three-wheel vehicles, from mopeds to heavy motorcycles, and also quads, as of 2016.
As these vehicles account for 16 per cent of accident deaths on Europe's roads, but only two per cent of road traffic, MEPs approved more stringent safety requirements for them, as well as tougher emission targets.
Under the new rules, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) will have to be fitted to all "bigger" motorbikes - those over 125cc - while ABS or combined brake systems (CBS) could be fitted to smaller ones under 125cc, including scooters.
By the end of 2019, the commission is due to present a cost-effectiveness analysis, with recommendations as to whether the rules should be revised to make ABS mandatory for smaller motorbikes, too.
The new regulation, adopted with 643 votes in favour, 16 against and 18 abstentions, still has to be formally approved by EU member states. The vote, which included over 300 amendments, was closely followed by riders and manufacturers.
The motorcycle industry has been keenly awaiting the new legislation so it can start making investments in the next generation of cleaner and safer machines. MEPs said they welcomed the measures to improve the visibility of motorbikes and riders by introducing automatic switching-on of lighting when the engine starts.
Parliament's rapporteur on the issue, Dutch EPP member Wim van de Camp said, "Of course safe motor cycling is largely the responsibility of the rider, but there is still some scope to make bikes safer and cleaner."
Further reaction came from ECR member Malcolm Harbour who said, "This vote is the culmination of a great deal of listening to biking enthusiasts so that we could put in place a law that makes two, three and four wheeled machines safer and cleaner, without ruining their cherished hobby. "This new type approval framework will secure the future of motor biking for a generation. "There has been significant scaremongering about the purpose behind this law.
"It was simply to make 15 outdated laws setting technical standards into one current law, which will be easier for manufacturers to decipher. We always had at heart the best interests of millions of people across Europe for whom biking is a way of life." Harbour said he had worked closely with a number of motorcyclist organisations, attempting to shape the law to better suit the wishes of enthusiasts.
New rules designed to make motorbikes 'safer and greener' have got the thumbs up from MEPs in Strasbourg.
Members approved the rules in a vote in parliament on Tuesday. They are to apply to all powered two- and three-wheel vehicles, from mopeds to heavy motorcycles, and also quads, as of 2016.
As these vehicles account for 16 per cent of accident deaths on Europe's roads, but only two per cent of road traffic, MEPs approved more stringent safety requirements for them, as well as tougher emission targets.
Under the new rules, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) will have to be fitted to all "bigger" motorbikes - those over 125cc - while ABS or combined brake systems (CBS) could be fitted to smaller ones under 125cc, including scooters.
By the end of 2019, the commission is due to present a cost-effectiveness analysis, with recommendations as to whether the rules should be revised to make ABS mandatory for smaller motorbikes, too.
The new regulation, adopted with 643 votes in favour, 16 against and 18 abstentions, still has to be formally approved by EU member states. The vote, which included over 300 amendments, was closely followed by riders and manufacturers.
The motorcycle industry has been keenly awaiting the new legislation so it can start making investments in the next generation of cleaner and safer machines. MEPs said they welcomed the measures to improve the visibility of motorbikes and riders by introducing automatic switching-on of lighting when the engine starts.
Parliament's rapporteur on the issue, Dutch EPP member Wim van de Camp said, "Of course safe motor cycling is largely the responsibility of the rider, but there is still some scope to make bikes safer and cleaner."
Further reaction came from ECR member Malcolm Harbour who said, "This vote is the culmination of a great deal of listening to biking enthusiasts so that we could put in place a law that makes two, three and four wheeled machines safer and cleaner, without ruining their cherished hobby. "This new type approval framework will secure the future of motor biking for a generation. "There has been significant scaremongering about the purpose behind this law.
"It was simply to make 15 outdated laws setting technical standards into one current law, which will be easier for manufacturers to decipher. We always had at heart the best interests of millions of people across Europe for whom biking is a way of life." Harbour said he had worked closely with a number of motorcyclist organisations, attempting to shape the law to better suit the wishes of enthusiasts.
