Category: Organisations

1. 30th anniversary for seatbelts

   Posted on 12:01am Thursday 31st Jan 2013

   Seatbelt laws were first put into place thirty years ago but we still face issues with their use. One in five (19%) motorists claim to know someone who doesn’t use a seatbelt in the front of their car.  

   Today will see the anniversary of the introduction of compulsory wearing which came to effect in 1983. Latest figures show 95 per cent of drivers and 96 per cent of front seat passengers wear a seat belt; 89 per cent of rear seat passengers use one.

   Yet every year, not wearing a seatbelt is still a contributory factor in more than 220 deaths and serious injuries.

   A higher number of younger motorists know someone who does not wear a seatbelt compared to the older age group.  

   • In the back of the car, 41% of 18-29 year olds know someone who doesn’t wear a seatbelt compared to 25% of 45+ year olds whilst for in the front of the car, 36% of 16-29 year olds know someone compared to 11% of 55+ year olds.
   • Drivers and passengers aged 17-34 have the lowest seat belt wearing rates combined with the highest accident rates.
   • Yet 14 per cent of adults still admit to being inconsistent seat-belt wearers.  

   IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “In the past three decades seatbelts have made a fantastic contribution to road safety success in Britain helping to save thousands of lives. But the ongoing message needs to be reinforced to all age groups. All the modern technology in a new car assumes the occupant is wearing a seatbelt.  Younger drivers know that not wearing a seatbelt is dangerous, but they must still be reminded that no matter where you are sitting in a car, a seatbelt will save your life.”

2. EU Hands Off Biking - 24th June

   Posted on 12:01am Wednesday 20th Jun 2012

   On September 25th 2011, MAG organised a Demo against new anti-motorcycle legislation proposed by Europe. It was the biggest mass ride-out of bikes this country had ever seen, with a total in excess of 40,000! 

   This time the rides will coincide with each of the 12 EU Parliamentary Constituencies in the UK. All rides leave their start point at 1pm prompt. Some rides have dispersal points, some have finish points where you can park up and chat about the amazing event you have just been a part of. We are not trying to 'beat' the turnout from last September, we are targeting the constituencies of MEPs who can vote in Europe and make a difference.

   Start points nationwide. See list on interactive map.
   www.mag-uk.org
   facebook:

3. BMF Cautious over Historic Vehicles MOT Exemption

   Posted on 12:01am Wednesday 30th May 2012

   The announcement by the Government that vehicles manufactured before 1960 will no longer have to pass an MOT, has received a cautious welcome from the British Motorcyclists Federation.

   While pleased that the Government is trying to cut down on regulation, the fact that thousands of cars and motorcycles will from 18th November no longer require an annual test of any sort is a concern say the BMF.

   At the time of the consultation the BMF pointed out that there was still a lot of support from the classic world for some form of an MOT as an annual check of basic roadworthiness. The BMF’s response, while recognising that modern test standards were not suitable for 50 year old vehicles, also went on to acknowledge   that there was a problem finding testers who were knowledgeable on the limitations of older vehicles. 

   The BMF also points out that owners of pre-1960 machines will still be legally required to ensure that they are safe and in a proper condition to be on the road, the problem now being though, who decides?

   The Government have also said that it is allowing voluntary MOT tests and it might well mean that motor insurance providers will require historic vehicles to have been tested as proof of road worthiness, something that could also assist owners following road traffic accidents.

   BMF Government Relations Executive Chris Hodder said: “Broadly speaking, the BMF is generally in favour of less legislation and regulation for motorcycle owners, but there is a very large degree of support for the MOT system and we did question whether exemptions should be made at all. We will now have to watch how the system pans out.”

   A summary of response to the consultation is available here: 

4. Roll up, roll up... to the best BMF Show in years!

   Posted on 12:01am Wednesday 16th May 2012

   Firstly, we've arranged for a Big Screen to be at the Show. This means footy fans can watch Chelsea’s game live on Saturday evening AND it will show the Moto GP practice sessions and the race live on Sunday. Remember, to have access to the evening entertainment or the sports screening you will need a Weekend ticket.

   Secondly, the BMF have offered a further incentive to BMF Members - you will now be given a £2 discount off the ‘On Gate’ ticket prices – this will include camping and day tickets. You MUST produce your membership card to get the discount - so pop it in your wallet now! Affiliated club members also entitled to this discount (with membership card).

   Rain, rain, go away...!

   We are keeping a watch on the weather and forecasts indicate that there will be an improvement and even the chance of sunshine again – so the show most definitely will be ON!

   We have put a number of measures in place to dry the ground as much as possible and minimise the disruption should the heavens open (this is the UK summer after all!) and there are a lot of people working in the background to ensure everyone has a great time. In addition, campers who decide the weather isn’t up to a weekend in a tent will be able to buy a camper van ticket on the gate on arrival, so you can leave that decision until the last minute and check how the sky looks on the day…

   And finally...

   You can meet one of the BSB riders from Team Savage Squirrel we have visiting the the show, together with a few other biking characters such as globe-trotting round the world record breaker Nick Saunders.

   Tell us what you think of the show! – In the FREE show programme you’ll find a short questionnaire, simply fill it in, hand it in and you could win £75 voucher to spend at Mick Byrne.

   Show us what you think of the show! – Upload your video to You Tube  and you could win the use of Ducati Monster 1100 for a weekend. Thanks to the lovely people at Sycamore Ducati for putting up this prize. Terms & conditions apply.

   Remember, if you want to take a bike out on a demo ride you will need both parts of your licence, so put the paper part in your packing pile now (good bit of illiteration there me thinks!).

5. BMF Calls For Justice

   Posted on 12:01am Tuesday 15th May 2012

   The BMF have written to Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke MP, QC, after the Court of Appeal last Friday overturned a judgement that had been made in favour of a motorcyclist seriously injured in a collision with a lorry.

   At a hearing at Cambridge County Court last year, motorcyclist Robert Whiteford of Soham, Cambridgeshire, who lost his right leg in the collision in April 2009, had won his case against a Lithuanian transport company, Kubas UAB, but now, despite what the BMF say is accepted as undisputed evidence that the lorry was over the central white line, the motorcyclist, while still on his side of the road, has been held to be riding ‘too close to the centre of the road’ and was therefore the one at fault.

   It has also been accepted by all parties that the lorry was too wide for its side of the road and when cornering at the time of the collision was over the white centre line, but simply because motorcyclist Robert Whiteford had agreed with the defence that he should have been riding nearer the centre of his own lane (something experienced motorcyclists know is not necessarily the case), he was held to blame.

   Jonathan Watt-Pringle, QC for the lorry firm, therefore argued that the judge ‘was wrong to impose so high a standard of driving on the lorry driver’ adding that: “The collision occurred for one reason and one reason only, and that is because the claimant was driving right close to the centre when he accepted that the course should have been a very different one.”

   Allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Richards said of the lorry driver: “A finding of negligence in this case would, to my mind, be to impose an unacceptably high standard on the driver.”

   In the letter to Mr Clarke, the BMF complains that the appeal judges in the case had decided bizarrely that the lower court was in error because it was “an unacceptably high standard” for the driver to stay on his own side of the road!

   In the light of the judgement, the BMF have asked Mr Clark 'how it can possibly be right that a driver licensed to drive the largest and most dangerous vehicles on the road is not expected to stay on his own side of the road?' 

   BMF spokesman Jeff Stone said: “There are far too many of these instances where justice for the motorcyclist is hard to come by. It’s a sort of bikeism where it seems merely riding a motorcycle is taken as a contributory factor! This case especially really does beggar belief.”

   The report of the appeal case can be read on the Cambridge-News website: