New National Partnership to fight POTHOLES #nationalpotholeday BMF News 15 January 202415 January 2024 BMF joins new National Partnership between Road User organisations, including the National Motorcyclists Council, and the road repair industry to press Government and Local Authorities to deliver effective and permanent road repairs through a comprehensive 5-Point Plan launched today on "National Pothole Day." Paul Morgan CBE, Government Relations Executive, British Motorcyclists Federation said: “Potholes and other road surface related defects are extremely dangerous for motorcyclists and the top concern for BMF members. Action is needed now to urgently clear the backlog of repairs and address the appalling state of UK roads. We call on Government to front-load the £8.3billion funding that has recently been announced for road repairs and to prioritise the necessary work to make the UK road network safe
Help STOP Camden bike charges! BMF News 12 January 2024 Help STOP Camden bike charges! Camden Council have brought forward new proposals for motorcycle parking charges. We need YOU to help stop the charges! This might not directly affect you, but if we don't fight parking charges wherever they appear they will spread, including to your local area. Please sign and share the petition from our friends at Save London Motorcycling against the charges. It should only take 30 seconds of your time! Find out more and sign the petition against the plans at... savelondonmc.com/camden/petition Camden tried to bring in motorcycle parking charges 2020. It was a petition just like this that stopped them, with your help we can stop them again! A quick reminder of Camden’s plans: parking permits for residents', businesses' and doctors' motorcycles the same
Motorcycles for work journeys – help needed! BMF News 4 January 20244 January 2024 As part of our continuing campaign looking into reports of motorcycles being banned for work journeys and issues with insurance, we need your help. If you work for a company, or an organisation based in the UK, whether you ride a motorcycle for work or not, please help us collect vital information by completing this short online survey HERE. It’s totally anonymous and only takes 2 minutes to complete. Please get your responses in by Monday the 22nd of January. Top images courtesy of Alex Parsons-Hulse
BMF to attend annual MCIA Conference BMF News 3 January 20243 January 2024 The BMF’s new government relations executive, Paul Morgan is set to attend the Motorcycle Industry Association's (MCIA) conference for the first time this year. The annual event is an important one for the BMF and is set to be attended by over 150 MCIA members, including major manufacturers, as well as government stakeholders and representatives from local authorities. The outline agenda for the event splits the day into morning and afternoon sessions with presentations form keynote speakers, followed by panel discussions and Q&A. Amongst the speakers, Alfie Brierley, the MCIA’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs will give an update on current MCIA Campaigns and the MCIA’s CEO Tony Campbell will provide a UK market review and a look at what to expect
New Year Message from the chair BMF News 1 January 202428 March 2024 Looking good for 2024? We certainly are, this is an exciting time for motorcyclists, with technical development streaking into the future. The redefining of what a motorcycle is and the expectations of what a motorbike actually means are happening all around us. Only this week Honda, synonymous with ‘motorcycle’ for many people, have announced a wide range of electric bikes and a significant plan for Internal Combustion Engine bikes, with investment to match. The BMF are expanding in membership, still the Number One in representing riders of all types of bikes , without exception. The BMF has always been a big umbrella to protect riders of mopeds, off roaders, and big road bikes, without distinction. If you ride a bike, we don’t
Motorcycles banned at Whitby Railway Station – UPDATED BMF News 11 December 202317 January 2024 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 Tony and Welcome Ian! BMF News 11 December 202328 March 2024 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! BMF News 5 December 2023 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
Is Wales headed toward a green future or dystopian nightmare? BMF News 4 December 202328 March 2024 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
Motorcycle ban for work??? BMF News 30 November 2023 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
Introducing our newest member of Staff ~ Paul Morgan BMF News 30 October 202330 October 2023 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
BMF Support IAM petition BMF News 23 October 202323 October 2023 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