Pothole Repair Funding Welcomed, but Government Urged to go Further on Motorcycle Safety. The Department for Transport has today announced further details of fundingto fix potholes across England. Local authorities will be allocated a share of around £1.6billion funding to be used to repair the roads most need of repair, with amounts of up to £500million expected to be awarded. The Government is also requiring local authorities to collect the correct data on pothole related issues and to improve maintenance before potholes start to form. This is in line with calls from the Pothole Partnership  which demanded more transparency, plus better reporting and standards as part of the solution to roads maintenance issues. The funding also has built-in incentives, with 25% of this uplift held

National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) responds to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee’s Call For Evidence on the State of the Road Network The NMC has forwarded written evidence to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee highlighting the dire condition of England’s road network and calling for an effective government strategy, supported by adequate funding, to urgently resolve the current situation. NMC Chair and BMF Political and Technical Services Director, Anna Zee, said: “ The current state of the UK’s road network is a disgrace, with many roads in an unacceptable and dangerous state through lack of sufficient investment over a number of years. The scourge of potholes, in particular, represents a real danger to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users and needs to be fixed urgently through

All riders are asked to take part in the campaign and contact their election candidates The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) has today launched an important campaign which aims to put motorcycling on the map in parliamentary constituencies in advance of the General Election. A ‘Motorcycling Matters’ manifesto and campaign website has been created by the NMC’s members, which sets out in simple terms what motorcyclists need the post-election Government to deliver for motorcycling. It presents a manifesto for a positive vision for the future of transport and the role of motorcycling within this. There are seven key themes: 1. Transport Choice: Bringing motorcycling into the mainstream of transport policy 2. The introduction of improved and simplified licensing, training and testing 3. Safer roads for riding,

Proposals to increase the legal power of eBikes should be considered as part of a wider regulatory review into ultra light electric Powered Two Wheelers (PTW) and micromobility regulations. The National Motorcyclists Council has responded to the Department for Transport Consultation Smarter Regulation: Proposed Changes to the Regulations on Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC). The Government has proposed to amend the legal definition of how EAPCs are classified so that the maximum continuous rated power of the electric motor must not exceed 500 watts instead of 250 watts as set out in the current regulations. The NMC is not opposed to the evolution of eBike regulations if these are carefully considered and we envisage positives which could result from what is being proposed,

Consultation issued after work by NMC and its member organisations to bring clarity to the current patchwork of access The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) has strongly welcomed a new consultation by the Department for Transport (DfT) which seeks views on making motorcycle access to bus lanes a default position in regulations in England. In his introduction to the consultation, Transport Minister Guy Opperman MP said “Motorcycles are an important but sometimes overlooked mode of transport, not just by drivers who fail to spot bikers, but occasionally by government too. Their size and nature make them a dynamic and affordable option for road users, and with that it’s only right that our roads become as dynamic as those using them.” Mr Opperman’s remarks

Shock figures on National Pothole Date (15th January) show pothole damage at record high   New Pothole Partnership formed with 5-point plan   AA Pothole Index shows 2023 worst for 5 years for car damage   Damage to vehicles estimated at almost half a billion pounds   Motorcyclists and Cyclists most at risk of injury A new partnership has been launched today (15 January) between road user organisations and the road repairs industry to help tackle the scourge of potholes, as shock new figures from the AA show pothole damage to vehicles has hit a five year high. The Pothole Partnership has been formed by the AA, the National Motorcyclists Council, British Cycling, IAM RoadSmart, the British Motorcyclists Federation and manufacturer

A motorcycle that can alert the rider potholes is the claim of Finnish manufacturer Verge, whose TS Ultra is a state of the art electric bike. There’s nothing new about using radar technology on bikes – Yamaha, BMW and Ducati, amongst others, already fit radar systems to warn the rider of nearby traffic which could be out of view. Verge’s ‘Starmatter Vision’ tech claims to be a major advance on all of these, with a promised 360-degree view around the bike. Front and rear radars plus six cameras feed data to a central computer on the bike, which is combined with data from sensors, processed and then fed to the rider as visual information on the TFT screen, or as an

Ministers face a full agenda of biking issues after Government reshuffle. Riders need certainty in several key areas Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle of both cabinet and departmental ministers has seen several changes in the Government, not least the Department for Transport (DfT) where two ministers directly involved in motorcycling matters, Richard Holden and Jesse Norman, have moved on. DEFRA has a new Secretary of State, Steve Barclay. Trudy Harrison has also departed from her ministerial post in the Department. As this is likely to be the last major change in ministers before the General Election, new ministers are entering office with a large backlog of issues that affect motorcycling. The NMC is calling for the Government to finally bring certainty and

National Motorcycling Council calls on the Government to adopt the NMC’s approach to motorcycle decarbonisation – plus deliver in other policy areas. News that Prime Minister Sunak is set to announce a revision of net-zero targets has been today welcomed by the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC). The Council has from the start advocated an approach to decarbonisation which follows international product, technical and market developments in this area, rather than imposing arbitrary UK-only targets based around just one type of technology – battery electric. Government must take a genuinely technology neutral approach to decarbonisation and support wider choice than just battery electric motorcycles alone – including supporting the ongoing development of clean fuel technology for internal combustion engines. Security of fuel

Work by the Trail Riders Fellowship and the Green Lane Association regains motorised access to Wrexham rural green road. The National Motorcyclists Council have welcomed a High Court decision to revoke a traffic regulation order which had removed vehicular access rights on a green road in Wrexham The unclassified county road known as “Whitestones”, in Llansanffraid Glyn Ceiriog, Wrexham County Borough, is a popular route among ‘green laners’ and other types of recreational users. However, Users have encountered problems on the route from at least 2016 when obstructions and blockages started appearing in an attempt to discourage public use. In May 2021 the Green Lane Association (GLASS), a member of the NMC’s partner organisation, the Land Access and Recreation Association, served notice