The European Commission has launched an internet consultation to gauge reaction to the idea of a standardised EU MOT which might be far more demanding than the British one.  
 
They are also considering increasing the frequency of inspections and a requirement to have vehicles re-inspected if they have been modified since being tested or if the vehicle is sold.  
 
Road-side spot-checks specifically for motorcycles are also under consideration.
 
Harmonisation to the harshest test conditions currently found in any member state is an option being considered. Currently the most severe test regime is endured by Germany where riders face a far more stringent regime of testing and restriction than the UK enforces.
 
Nich Brown, General Secretary of MAG(UK), said “The scope of this consultation confirms that the EU is contemplating a draconian and expensive burden on riders. All riders need to act now to challenge the potential excesses of yet another pan-European system that fails to meet the needs of individual nations.”
 
The questions in the on-line consultation form are pitched in a suspicious manner which suggests that its architects have assumed the merit of such an initiative. It is also worrying that the consultation is published only in English whereas most of the countries who currently have no MOT equivalent test and so will be most affected, are not English speaking. Worse still, only three weeks have been allowed for stakeholders to respond.
 
The worst scenario option which the questionnaire encourages participants to support, contradicts the claim by the EU that they wish to reduce the burdens on citizens.
 
Nich Brown added
“Since vehicle defects are implicated in less than1% of motorcycle crashes in Great Britain and many of that 1% are simply down to under-inflated tyres this whole plan has the look of an expensive red herring.”
 
MAG is encouraging riders to complete the survey and opt for the ‘no change’ to present system option.
 
The consultation runs until 24th September 2010 http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=roadworthiness