The BMF is alarmed to hear the news of a surprise ban on motorcycles that has been imposed at Whitby railway station in North Yorkshire by its owners Northern Rail. The station is the location of a well-known biker café, the Whistlestop that has been welcoming bikers to share its fabulous food and hospitality for many years. The café owners have expressed their shock and frustration at the news and fear the impact that this will have on their business. Bikers travel from far and wide to visit the café. Many have been quick to express their anger at the decision and the impact it will have on the biking community. There is a regular well attended bike night held

Happy Retirement! BMF’s Chief Instructor for the Blue Riband Advanced Rider Award, Tony Smykowski, has decided the time has come to hang up his ‘Chief Boots’ and step down from the role after his upcoming 74th Birthday on the 12th December 2023. In the last 6 years Tony has put many building blocks in place to improve the award from when he took it on in 2017, he has tirelessly worked to increase the instructors from only 2, all the way up to 34, which now means we have training available in all areas of the UK. Which then means in those 6 years 177 riders have successfully achieved the Blue Riband Advanced Rider Award. That is some achievement, all done voluntarily

We need your help to stop Camden Council's motorcycle parking charges! Sign the petition now! Go to savelondonmc.com/camden/petition to join the hundreds of riders who've already backed the open letter against Camden's dangerous new plans. It should only take a minute of your time. We need as many signatures as possible, otherwise Camden will refuse to hear the petition. Once you've signed please share this with your friends, family and followers!  Camden tried to bring in charges three years ago but they were forced to back down. Since then they've made some changes to their proposals, but only because riders made them. We know Camden respond to pressure, which is why we need you to help force them to back down again.  A quick reminder of Camden's plans and

BMF South Wales rep Steve Preston takes a look at the Welsh Government’s National Transport Delivery Plan 2022-2027 What better way to while away a few hours on a cold, wintery day than reading through a lengthy document in which the Welsh government outlines its plans to solve our many and varied transport problems as well as saving the environment? Well, this is what I’ve done, and it’s left me feeling quite conflicted. Whilst much of the plan’s stated aims are laudable, as a biker, there’s not much in there that gives me much hope for our future. Let’s start with the obvious: the entire plan doesn’t even list motorcycles as a form of transport, let alone show any sign that biking

Does the company you work for have a ban on the use of motorcycles for work related journeys? Accounts have been received recently relating to several companies who have banned the use of motorcycles for work related journeys. That is using your bike for journey’s that are not classed as commuting, such as travelling to a location that is not your normal place of work, site visits, trips to other offices or client’s premises for example. If you have been affected by this in any way, then I would love to hear from you. I’m currently collecting data to try to establish the scale of the issue and the impact on motorcycling. There have also been suggestions that some companies are actively

Want to know more about Paul Morgan CBE, our Government Relations Executive? Read on.... I am really pleased to have joined the British Motorcyclists’ Federation as Government Relations Executive to help provide reactive and proactive lobbying on behalf of BMF directly with the UK Government, whilst working closely with other lobbying organisations and partners such as the National Motorcyclists’ Council (NMC) to promote the cause of motorcycling. Motorcycling has always been a passion, since I first started riding the early Japanese bikes in the late 70s. At that time leather was the material of choice for riders (hi-tech clothing with waterproof and breathable membranes was some way off) and I’d managed to pick up a Marlon Brando “Wild One” leather jacket from

IAM RoadSmart has launched a petition calling on the Government to scrap VAT on life-saving air vests which are currently subject to a 20% VAT rate. Other lifesaving equipment, like motorcycle helmets, are either zero rated or lower rated. IAM CEO, Antony Kildare, shares his statement here Full details of the IAM RoadSmart petition can be found via the following link here Previous research has shown that for riders wearing an airbag vest or jacket, forward momentum in a crash is reduced by roughly 60 percent and head traumas are reduced by approximately 80 percent; significantly reducing incidents of broken bones and abrasions, as well as head and neck trauma. BMF fully support this petition, which, if successful, would bring down the price

Recently there have been increasing numbers of local authorities seeking to introduce motorcycle parking charges. Camden Councils proposals are the latest, with the Council proposing to scrap free motorcycle parking bays and replace them with park-to-pay facilities. This is a misguided and illogical strategy given the significant congestion and CO2 reduction benefits which motorcycles offer. Motorcycles, in addition, do not take up large amounts of road or kerb space and do not require significant and expensive parking infrastructure to accommodate them. Powered 2 wheelers offer a real alternative to both high-polluting cars and the already overburdened public transport system. Rather than demonising motorcycling, local authorities like Camden should instead be encouraging greater use of motorcycles as a means to cut emissions, to

The BMF Annual General Meeting 2023 The British Motorcyclists Federation held its AGM on 14th October 2023, at 10.00. The event, held on Zoom, was a great success with members taking part, from both Clubs and as individuals. Regular business was dealt with briskly, before moving on to wide ranging discussions on a number of topics. The meeting heard reports from the Chair, Jim Freeman, and fellow Directors and Staff: Anna Zee, Political & Technical Services Sheonagh Ravensdale, Communications Helen Hancock, Administrator and Social Media Manager Peter Laidlaw, Membership Services Howard Anderson, Finance The meeting was run by Jim Freeman, who managed the polls and voting, with help from Helen Hancock, the BMF’s Administrator, particularly monitoring the lively chat board. Jim Freeman was re-elected as Chair with 95% of the

BMF has agreed to work with Motorcycle Law Scotland (MLS) to develop an information campaign to improve car driver awareness of motorcyclists at junctions to reduce motorcycle accidents and fatalities in Scotland. A recent article in “The Scotsman” by Thomas Mitchell, an Associate at MLS, has highlighted the continuing vulnerability of motorcyclists in road traffic accidents in Scotland with motorcycle riders often the innocent victims of poor driver behaviour. MLS argue that current safety campaign messaging in Scotland, that focuses solely on educating riders about risks and reducing the speed of motorcyclists, “demonises” motorcyclists and creates a false perception amongst other road users that the responsibility for a rider’s safety rests entirely in the hands of the rider. The figures on motorcyclist injuries/fatalities

Over the last twenty years I have received a pretty extensive education in road safety matters and a good deal of technical and legislative education to do with motorcycling issues. Most of it while engaged in full-time employment in a completely unrelated area. I never intended to become a road safety expert but if I am more than halfway there it is because if you represent motorcyclists it is necessary to engage with a whole spectrum of road safety bodies. It is unfortunately the case that as a representative of motorcyclists one does encounter people who can only think of motorcycles as dangerous and noisy. With respect to noise the simple solution is to enforce the existing law so let's put that

The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) Files Objections To The Proposed Permanent Closure of the U7003 along the Western Shore of Thirlmere The BMF has formally raised objections to the proposed introduction of a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) by Cumberland Council relating to the U7003 road along the western shore of Thirlmere. To read our full response to the consultation please click here The Thirlmere West road has been closed on a "temporary" basis for almost two years following Storm Arwen in November 2021, which resulted in fallen trees, rockfall and other debris falling on the highway. A consultation recently called by Cumberland Council has sought feedback on the Council’s proposal to close the route “permanently” whilst the latest survey of the road