FEMA's newly elected president Odd Terje Dovik had a top meeting with FIM president Jorge Viegas. On the agenda: stronger cooperation on motorcycling issues. The FIM Commissions met in Lyon this weekend, providing an occasion for the new FEMA president, Odd Terje Dovik, to meet with his FIM counterpart, Jorge Viegas, as well as the FIM Deputy director Damiano Zamana. Jesper Christensen, FIM Director of the Commission for Mobility and FEMA board member, was also present. The meeting was following up the presentation given by Damiano at the recent FEMA Annual General Meeting (AGM). At the FEMA AGM, Damiano expressed a strong wish to formalize and further develop the ties between FEMA and FIM, to the benefit of both organisations. In Lyon, this

The members of FEMA elected a new President and three new members of the Board. FEMA's Annual General Meeting took place in the Netherlands on Saturday 10 February. The newly elected president Odd Terje Dovik from motorcyclists' organisation NMCU Norway took over from Anna Zee who was president since 2015. Odd Terje thanked Anna for her many years of service, both in FEMA and in the British motorcyclists' organisation BMF. The new members of the Board are Eric Maldiney (FFMC France), Jari Kielinen (SMOTO Finland) and Michael Noonan (IMA Ireland). Board members Jesper Christensen (SMC Sweden) and Steinmar Gunnarsson (BLS Iceland) were re-elected. FEMA also said goodbye to Board member Lene Michelsen and to FEMA treasurer Jim Freeman. Austrian motorcyclists' organisation Bikers' Voice -

Motorcycles, scooters and electric bicycles with speed exceeding 25 km/h will be included in the scope of the UN Regulation No. 155 on cyber security and cyber security management. Cybersecurity, within the context of road vehicles, is the protection of automotive electronic systems, communication networks, control algorithms, software, users, and underlying data from malicious attacks, damage, unauthorized access, or manipulation. The UNECE Cybersecurity regulation requires automotive manufacturers to establish cybersecurity measures to prevent cyber threats. This includes creating a management system, risk assessments, and continuous monitoring against potential vulnerabilities and threats. The UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles decided to include motorcycles, scooters and electric bicycles with speed exceeding 25 km/h in the scope

The European Union has decided to extend the suspension of its rebalancing tariffs on US products, such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In 2018, the then president Trump signed two proclamations to impose additional duties of 10% and 25% respectively on certain imports of aluminium and steel products into the United States, introducing tariffs on €6.4 billion of European steel and aluminium exports. These measures followed investigations carried out by the US Department of Commerce, which concluded that imports of these products threatened US national security and recommended action to restrict imports. In response, the European Union introduced rebalancing tariffs on US exports to the EU of a value of €2.8 billion; this included import tariffs for US products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, making

2023 in numbers Newsletter subscribers > 10,075 Facebook followers > 78,788 Instagram followers > 985 LinkedIn followers > 1,132 Twitter (X) followers > 1,632 Member organisations > 20 Posted manufacturers’ recalls > 36 If you don't want to miss any FEMA news, follow us on your favourite social media channel. We reached the end of 2023, time to have a quick look at the highlights of the past year. And what a year it was for FEMA! Defending riders' rights seems to be more important than ever, now that we see more and more policies that are not exactly motorcyclist friendly. Driving licence proposals seem to want to make it as unattractive as possible to get your A licence, road authorities keep implementing infrastructure measures that disregard our needs and

Proposals to establish different speed limits for cars and motorcycles ánd differentiated speed limits for holders of A1, A2 and A motorcycle licences were rejected during a vote in the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament. On Thursday 7 December 2023, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Transport and Tourism Committee adopted their position on the revision of EU driving licence rules by 22 votes in favour, 21 against and two abstentions. MEPs say they “want to make sure the new rules contribute to road safety, in addition to the EU’s green and digital transitions”. Some of the proposed measures: Mandatory health checks on issuance and renewal of driving licence Minimum two year probationary period for novice

When it comes to reducing casualties among motorcyclists, it is essential to get the riders’ views on road safety. In the world of road safety it is quite common that people talk about motorcyclists, but it is not common that we are talked with. To change this, motorcycle experts presented members of the road safety community with feasible solutions for road safety issues. During the seminar ‘Reducing road deaths among motorcycle riders’, organised by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), motorcycle experts were given the opportunity to present their views to a large audience of over 240 members of the road safety community. The scale of the problem is serious: over 45,000 users of powered two-wheelers lost their lives on European roads in

Today, 1 November 2023, FEMA's General-Secretary Dolf Willigers (66) officially retires from his job. Dolf was a volunteer with a Dutch motorcyclists' organisation since 2000, where he was a member of the board from 2006 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2017. He was also an editor of this organisation's member magazine from 2011 to 2014 where he focused on European issues. Dolf represented the organisation as a delegate to FEMA from 2013 to 2015, when he applied for (and got) the job of FEMA's General-Secretary. In the past eight years we have come to know Dolf as a person that has a deep knowledge of all dossiers concerning motorcyclists' issues. That, combined with his engaging but strong-willed personality, made him well-respected

Digital connectivity between motorcycles, cars and infrastructure is entering a new phase. Recently FEMA joined a test day on the German Lausitzring track. On 14 and 15 September 2023 stakeholders from motorcycle- and car industry, road safety- and research institutions and users’ organisations got the opportunity to see with their own eyes and experience themselves how the new safety features that are developed by the Connected Motorcycle Consortium and its member’s work. FEMA was invited to participate in these demo days. The Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC) was founded in 2016 when BMW Motorrad, Honda and Yamaha agreed upon the need to further enhance motorcycle/scooter safety by the means of C-ITS. Since then, a range of manufacturers, suppliers and research institutes joined forces

If you thought the current driving licence directive was a monstrosity, wait until you read some of the proposals in the European Parliament rapporteur’s draft report on the proposal by the European Commission to revise the directive. Perhaps the most bizarre proposal: different speed limits for different vehicles… FEMA considers a proper and balanced driving licence directive as one of the most important instruments for road safety. It should also ensure that it facilitates our citizens in mobility needs. A good driving license system enables citizens of all ages in using their own transport modes to participate in the society, go to school or work and to visit relatives and friends where walking, cycling or public transport are not the best

Sufficient grip is crucial for motorcycles, because motorcycles (normally) have just two wheels: lose grip with one and you are already in trouble. Losing grip not only means sliding but also possible loss of balance and a crash. This is why it is important that the skid resistance measurements of the road authorities meet our needs too, which isn’t the case now. FEMA's Dolf Willigers and SMC's Maria Nordqvist have written a technical report, which includes clear recommendations to road authorities on how to test and improve road friction. Loss of grip can occur when a road surface has lost some of its friction because of wear, because of the weather (water, snow, ice) and because of bitumen bleeding, badly executed repairs,

The European Commission wants to make it mandatory to hand in motorcycles when the have come to 'the end of their life'. FEMA's Wim Taal explains. The European Commission (EC) has recently adopted a Proposal for a Regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles (end-of-life vehicle means a vehicle which is waste or vehicles that are irreparable). The inclusion of motorcycles in the Regulation could mean the end of so-called home recycling. Recycling of motorcycles and motorcycle parts is an inherent part of motorcycle use. Home recycling, where you end the bike’s registration and take it apart for re-use of its parts, is a significant part of the motorcycle culture. Home recycling helps to keep bikes