TRANSPORT: MOTs for motorcycles could be a stealth tax
Brussels, 16/07/2012 - The new Commission proposal introducing MOTs for motorcycles and scooters could possibly prove to be a stealth tax targeting the poor. The Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) likes to believe this because the planned revision of European legislation will cost riders a fortune, it claims. This is despite the fact that, according to figures provided by FEMA, the advantages in terms of road safety that will come about through this new measure are insubstantial. Motorcycle riders promise to campaign against the new Commission proposal.
On Friday 13 July, the European commissioner for transport proposed toughening up the servicing of vehicles in an effort to reduce road accidents caused by technical deficiencies, by revising three directives on technical registration and vehicle servicing. FEMA, however, considers that motorcyclists and scooter riders will be unjustly punished because they will now have to submit their vehicles for servicing (which is not compulsory in all member states). The first service will have to take place after four years, the second after two and then the inspection will be done annually. Aline Delhaye, the secretary general of FEMA, said that this involves a tax on the poor and all those who cannot buy a new vehicle every three years. The association considers that the riders of two wheelers will now have to pay â¬1.7 billion every two years, in addition to â¬1.2 billion every year for 70% of the older vehicles that have been on the roads for a period of more than six years.
Delhaye said that this is not acceptable: âIn money terms, the cost for citizens is going to be astronomical, without any benefits in return.â FEMA has doubts about the accuracy of the figures put forward by the Commission. The Commission claims that 8% of accidents caused by two wheelers are due to technical faults. FEMA considers that it is nothing of the sort and emphasises the comprehensive study carried out into motorcycle accidents in 2009, co-funded by the EU, which highlighted the fact that technical deficiencies accounted for less than 1% of the factors contributing to accidents. It would also appear that in the countries that have introduced periodic inspections for motorised two wheelers, there has not been any noticeable improvement in road safety.
On the basis of these observations, the secretary general of FEMA announced that her organisation and members would carry out a campaign against this proposal. This could involve mass rallies of motorcyclists in the European Court of Brussels over the next few months.
Brussels, 16/07/2012 - The new Commission proposal introducing MOTs for motorcycles and scooters could possibly prove to be a stealth tax targeting the poor. The Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) likes to believe this because the planned revision of European legislation will cost riders a fortune, it claims. This is despite the fact that, according to figures provided by FEMA, the advantages in terms of road safety that will come about through this new measure are insubstantial. Motorcycle riders promise to campaign against the new Commission proposal.
On Friday 13 July, the European commissioner for transport proposed toughening up the servicing of vehicles in an effort to reduce road accidents caused by technical deficiencies, by revising three directives on technical registration and vehicle servicing. FEMA, however, considers that motorcyclists and scooter riders will be unjustly punished because they will now have to submit their vehicles for servicing (which is not compulsory in all member states). The first service will have to take place after four years, the second after two and then the inspection will be done annually. Aline Delhaye, the secretary general of FEMA, said that this involves a tax on the poor and all those who cannot buy a new vehicle every three years. The association considers that the riders of two wheelers will now have to pay â¬1.7 billion every two years, in addition to â¬1.2 billion every year for 70% of the older vehicles that have been on the roads for a period of more than six years.
Delhaye said that this is not acceptable: âIn money terms, the cost for citizens is going to be astronomical, without any benefits in return.â FEMA has doubts about the accuracy of the figures put forward by the Commission. The Commission claims that 8% of accidents caused by two wheelers are due to technical faults. FEMA considers that it is nothing of the sort and emphasises the comprehensive study carried out into motorcycle accidents in 2009, co-funded by the EU, which highlighted the fact that technical deficiencies accounted for less than 1% of the factors contributing to accidents. It would also appear that in the countries that have introduced periodic inspections for motorised two wheelers, there has not been any noticeable improvement in road safety.
On the basis of these observations, the secretary general of FEMA announced that her organisation and members would carry out a campaign against this proposal. This could involve mass rallies of motorcyclists in the European Court of Brussels over the next few months.
<b>It takes Two to Lie Marge, One to Lie and One to Listen</b>
