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Government opens discussions with the NMC

Less than a month since the launch of the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC), initial meetings with the government have revealed strong interest from key officials in exploring potential next steps for policy development in relation to motorcycling.

The NMC is calling for a Government Motorcycling Strategy, with the key elements of this presented during the NMC’s launch which was attended by both government representatives and parliamentarians. Subsequent meetings with key officials have been held to explore next steps in several policy areas related to the strategy, with officials welcoming the combined approach to these issues from the range of organisations that have been brought together by the NMC. A range of possible next steps have been discussed, and the NMC has been asked to present its immediate priorities and has also been invited to join policy discussion groups within government.

The NMC are making the case for a new motorcycling strategy to cover the following areas:

  • Motorcycling within government transport policy, plus policy advocacy
  • Improvements to safety and training policy
  • Access to bus lanes and other priority measuresFull consideration of motorcycling as environmental challenges and opportunities evolve
  • Incentivisation for motorcycling, both for people to ride and also for safety
  • Accessibility to a full road network designed to keep motorcyclists safe
  • An effective response to motorcycle theft and crime
  • A positive policy for use of rural green roads and for motorcycle use in rural communities
  • Changes to government regulation as it relates to motorcycle sport, plus realising the social and economic potential of the sport
  • Consideration of motorcyclists’ needs in areas of the statutory regulation of traffic on both sealed and green roads
NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch (photograph by Wim Taal).

NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch said: “This early progress is extremely welcome. We have been delighted with the willingness by the government to engage so soon after the NMC’s launch. The range of expertise across the motorcycling organisations that have been brought together by the NMC seems to have been a clear factor in this positive approach from the government, providing as it does a ‘reference point’ for the common views of motorcycle riding representative groups on a range of consensus policy areas.

“Creating a fresh strategy for a whole transport mode is, on the face of it, a daunting task given the wide range of urgent issues that face wider UK public policy at the moment. But these early steps reveal a willingness by the government to further explore the policy issues facing motorcycling, several of which have previously been highlighted by individual NMC members. Clearly, at this early stage, no promises are being made, but the NMC feels that this early engagement is a good start to the work that will be needed to develop the new strategy.”

The National Motorcyclists Council’s members are the Auto Cycle Union, the British Motorcyclists Federation, IAM RoadSmart, the Motorcycle Action Group and the Trail Riders Fellowship.

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