BMF Link Up With Motorcycle Law Scotland To Develop A Car Drivers Awareness Campaign To Improve Motorcyclists’ Safety

BMF has agreed to work with Motorcycle Law Scotland (MLS) to develop an information campaign to improve car driver awareness of motorcyclists at junctions to reduce motorcycle accidents and fatalities in Scotland. A recent article in “The Scotsman” by Thomas Mitchell, an Associate at MLS, has highlighted the continuing vulnerability of motorcyclists in road traffic accidents in Scotland with motorcycle riders often the innocent victims of poor driver behaviour. MLS argue that current safety campaign messaging in Scotland, that focuses solely on educating riders about risks and reducing the speed of motorcyclists, “demonises” motorcyclists and creates a false perception amongst other road users that the responsibility for a rider’s safety rests entirely in the hands of the rider. The figures on motorcyclist injuries/fatalities

Volunteer Anna Zee: ‘Why I give up some of my riding so you don’t have to’.

Over the last twenty years I have received a pretty extensive education in road safety matters and a good deal of technical and legislative education to do with motorcycling issues. Most of it while engaged in full-time employment in a completely unrelated area. I never intended to become a road safety expert but if I am more than halfway there it is because if you represent motorcyclists it is necessary to engage with a whole spectrum of road safety bodies. It is unfortunately the case that as a representative of motorcyclists one does encounter people who can only think of motorcycles as dangerous and noisy. With respect to noise the simple solution is to enforce the existing law so let's put that

Use It or Lose It this Winter

If you get bombarded by emails and offers from your local motorcycle dealer this winter, then be sympathetic, because they may just be taking advice. The motorcycle trade has become increasingly seasonal, as leisure riders put their bikes away in the garage for the winter, hook them up to the Optimate and head indoors – consequently, sales of bikes, tyres, clothing and consumables all plummet. Some dealers struggle to survive this lean period, but motorcycle marketing man Dan Sagar, writing in trade paper British Dealer News, suggests that they take a leaf from the books of businesses which weathered the Covid lockdown well. The key, says Dan, is to keep in touch with customers via email newsletters and social media, with

Top Bike Crash Scenarios Listed

What’s the most common scenario for a motorcycle crash? Common wisdom suggests junctions, which are certainly high on the list for road crashes in general, but when it comes to which vehicle types top which type of crash location, a different picture emerges. According to a study from Forbes Advisor, using Department for Transport road casualty data for 2012-2021, motorcycles were the most common vehicle type to crash in five different scenarios. These were: failing to make a left-hand bend (ie going straight on), the same for a right-hander and three different overtaking scenarios – overtaking on the nearside, and overtaking a moving or static vehicle on the offside. Most common of these for bikes was offside overtaking when the other vehicle

Laverda Club Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The International Laverda Owners Club (ILOC) is to mark its 50th birthday in advance by launching a book which celebrates the iconic Italian machines. Founded in 1974, the club has since been a must-join for fans of the well known triples, 650/750 twins and the earlier singles. The book is a history of the club, its members and their experiences, so includes articles about their life on bikes and their love of Laverdas, plus contributions from key people in the Laverda UK story. ILOC Chairman Keith Prentice commented “We thought long and hard about how best to mark such an historic event and decided the ILOC Anniversary Book is a fitting record and memento of 50 incredible years of the Owners’

Airless Tyre for Bikes?

An airless tyre, using memory alloys as the load bearing component, is the claim of the Los Angeles based SMART Tire Company. It’s been working with NASA to develop a tyre from the experience of an exploration vehicle used on the Moon. The result is the SMART (Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology) which has a non-pneumatic tyre shape comprising a mesh or radial bands, mainly of the memory alloy NiTinol. Memory alloys are capable of “undergoing phase transitions at the molecular level with significant reversible strain (up to 10%) an order of magnitude more than ordinary materials.” In other words, it can deform significantly and will always spring back into shape – SMART claims the result is has the elastic qualities

BMF’s response to the Thirlmere West Road consultation – Cumbria

The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) Files Objections To The Proposed Permanent Closure of the U7003 along the Western Shore of Thirlmere The BMF has formally raised objections to the proposed introduction of a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) by Cumberland Council relating to the U7003 road along the western shore of Thirlmere. To read our full response to the consultation please click here The Thirlmere West road has been closed on a "temporary" basis for almost two years following Storm Arwen in November 2021, which resulted in fallen trees, rockfall and other debris falling on the highway. A consultation recently called by Cumberland Council has sought feedback on the Council’s proposal to close the route “permanently” whilst the latest survey of the road

Car versus motorcycle: new digital safety features tested

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

BMW stops all petrol bike sales in USA

In a dramatic move, BMW Motorrad has issued a temporary sales ban on all of its petrol-powered bikes in North America. This applies not only to new bikes, but also to used ones at dealers. Effectively, it leaves BMW as an electric-only brand in the USA and Canada for the time being, with only the CE 04 scooter on sale, though the smaller CE 02 is on the way. The problem is a component in the fuel vapour retention system that, “may not have been manufactured according to the material specifications.” BMW gives no more details than that, but it’s likely to be an emissions compliance issue for the North American markets. The company has emphasised that the sales stop is voluntary, temporary

Sunak’s Rethink on Net Zero Targets Welcomed, but Hiatus in Other Policy Areas Must End

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

20mph Limit on Welsh Roads Goes Live

A new 20mph default speed limit for all urban roads in Wales came into force on Sunday 17th September 2023. Councils can exempt individual roads if they choose to and keep the previous 30mph limit. The new law affects all residential roads with street lighting, most of which already had a 30-limit, and signage will be on the same pattern as previously, the 20 (or 30) limit denoted by circular signs with a red border. National speed limits on open roads remain 60mph for single-carriageways and 70mph for duals, unless signed otherwise. The Welsh Government (which was given the power to set a nationwide speed limit in 2018) made the 20mph proposal in 2021, the aim being to reduce the number of

European licence proposal: different speed limits for cars and motorcycles

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

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