The high numbers of motorcycle crashes that end up with fatalities and serious injuries mean that there is still much work to do on road safety. That is why international motorcyclists' organisations FIM and FEMA wrote an open letter, in which they call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, national governments and parliaments and road authorities to take action. The recently published road safety figures by the European Commission did not look good for motorcyclists. Although the number of fatal crashes has declined over the years with 12% (against a rising number of motorcyclists), in 2020 3042 motorcyclists and 495 moped riders still died as result of a crash in the European Union and EFTA countries (European Free Trade Association). This means

Even though after the summer break most restrictions of the Covid19-measures were lifted, it soon became clear that there would be no return to the pre-pandemic normality. This did not stop us continuing our work. The number of visits to Brussels may be less than we were used to before 2020, we are still able to advocate the rights and interests of the European motorcyclists in Brussels and to a lesser extend in Geneva. In this review we will first give a summary and then you will find the more detailed actions, ordered in the way of our strategic plan 2016-2026 by the four main topics. 2022 in numbers Newsletter subscribers > 10,360 Facebook posts > 129 Facebook followers > 64,597 Instagram posts > 81 Instagram followers

Historic motorcycles should be exempt from mandatory periodical technical inspections, from low and/or zero emission zones and from road taxes, according to a large majority of the motorcyclists who responded to FEMA's survey on the definition and use of historic vehicles. Why this survey? Different EU member states, other European countries, and the EU use different definitions to describe historic vehicles. For political purposes, especially when it comes to the position of motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers in both national and international legislation about road tax, low emission zones, periodical technical inspections et cetera, FEMA wanted to survey motorcyclists in Europe on the subject. 1.614 people from 31 countries responded to the survey. 95.61% of the respondents is male, 4.39% is female.

New crash avoidance testing of automated cars will include motorcycles. Euro NCAP is also looking at ways to assess the safety of motorcycles. In September 2022, we published an article about the very high Euro NCAP star rating for the Tesla model Y, while accidents with Tesla’s in the USA have showed that the Autopilot system is far from failproof, especially in bad-weather conditions. This led to several meetings with Euro NCAP, more about that later. In the meantime, on 9 November 2022, Euro NCAP published its new Vision 2030: a Safer Future for Mobility. In this paper Euro NCAP describes on a high level how it sees future vehicle safety standards and testing. Euro NCAP plans, for example, to add testing

Maximum confusion in Brussels whether the sale of cars and small vans with an internal combustion engine will be actually banned from 2035. And what about motorcycles? On Thursday 27 October 2022, the European Commission, European Parliament, and the member states, united in the Council of the European Union, reached an agreement in the so-called trilogue about the emission limits for cars and vans. After a few steps to lower the emission of the fleet, from 2035 the sale of new cars and motorcycles that have no zero CO2-emission will be banned in the European Union. Many parties, especially NGOs like Transport & Environment, who have lobbied for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for years and the Greens in the European Parliament celebrated

Euro NCAP stars do not protect motorcyclists. FEMA considers this an unacceptable situation and sent a letter to Euro NCAP to alert them to this unsafe situation, caused by their own testing methods. In September 2022, Euro NCAP, a voluntary vehicle safety rating system, rated the Tesla model Y with 5 stars . This is not unusual for a modern car. These five stars are partially based on a very high rating for ‘Safety Assisi’, 98%, which is almost as high as you can get. We consider this very high rating remarkable at least. From the beginning that Tesla cars hit the roads with their ‘Autopilot’ system, there are reports of remarkable and unexplainable accidents with Tesla cars that can be linked

Reliable detection of motorcycles by driver assistance systems in cars is essential to avoid collisions and decrease the number of motorcyclist accidents. A white paper published by the Connected Motorcycle Consortium discusses the current state of automobile Advanced Driver Assistance Systems from a two-wheeler detection point of view. It also presents an evaluation of potential methods to improve powered two-wheeler conspicuity and analyses previous relevant studies. Just like FEMA, the Connected Motorcycle Consortium thinks powered two-wheelers should be included in ADAS test procedure development and retroactively introduced into existing ones. Powered two-wheelers are often overseen, or their speed and distance are misjudged by other road users. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) support passenger car drivers to avoid hazardous situations in many traffic scenarios

'It is important that motorcycles do not remain fossil fuelled as the rest of the transport fleet cleans up', according to Trudy Harrison MP, Minister of State for Transport for the United Kingdom. The government of the United Kingdom has launched an open consultation, called 'L-category vehicles: ending sales of new non-zero emission models'. In that consultation the government announces a sales ban for new non-zero emission motorcycles from 2035. To be clear: with the consultation the British government is seeking opinions as to when the UK should stop the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles, not if they should stop selling them. The government clearly states: "While cars and vans vastly outnumber motorcycles on UK roads, motorcycles are an important and

FEMA: 'Motorcycle safety has to be the highest priority when automated cars change lanes at high speeds'. The UNECE’s World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations has adopted an amendment to UN Regulation No. 157, which extends the maximum speed for Automated Driving System (ADS) for passenger cars and light duty vehicles up to 130 km/h on motorways (the current limit is 60 km/h, which was introduced in January 2021), and allows automated lane changes. It will enter into force in January 2023 in those contracting parties which decide to apply it. These systems can be activated only under certain conditions on roads where pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited and which, by design, are equipped with a physical separation that divides the

How do you recognise fake claims from sellers of motorcycle gear when you are shopping online? It’s easier than you think. Motorcycle clothing cannot be legally placed onto the European market unless it has been tested and officially certified. It's that simple. By law, motorcycle clothing sold in the EU and UK must conform to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation. Conformity to standards and CE marking provide assurance to you, the buyer, that motorcycling apparel is fit for purpose (click here for a full article on that subject we wrote in 2021). It is easier than ever to find and order anything you could possibly want online. And motorcycle gear is no exception. But how do you recognise fake claims from

Just when we thought the problems with transporting a motorcycle or a car from the UK to the European Union were solved, new problems arise. After the European Commission confirmed that transporting a motorcycle or a car (‘means of transport’) from the United Kingdom to the continent should not be a problem, a discussion has started among French and British customs authorities about when a motorcycle or car is a ‘means of transport’. This is an ongoing subject, expect more updates. In the latest twist in the issue of customs formalities when transporting motorcycles across the EU/UK border in vans or on trailers, FEMA, NMC (National Motorcyclists Council UK) and FIVA, the historic vehicle federation, have received updated advice from the UK Government

Let us choose where to park safely and don’t ‘punish’ us by making us pay for our smart mobility choice; Europe’s motorcyclists are very outspoken when it comes to motorcycle parking. More and more authorities introduce restrictions on where a motorcycle can be parked. We also see a rise in the number of paid parking spaces dedicated to motorcycles. FEMA wanted to know how European motorcyclists feel about this and conducted an online survey on motorcycle parking. The overall conclusion of the survey is that riders from all over Europe want to be able to park their bike anywhere, as long as it does not cause nuisance for pedestrians and other road users. An impressive 88.94% of the respondents say motorcycles should