[sustran] EU laws to put brake on bikers (motorcyclists) BUT BUT BUT

[Todd Edelman]

EU laws to put brake on bikers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329473814-103630,00.html

Relevant excerpts to our discussion:

"...The first, which comes into force in two years, will see riders who
want to obtain a full licence complete a new 'break and swerve' course in
which they perform high-speed manoeuvres, including an emergency stop at
50mph..."

"...A second directive - due to come into force by 2012 - will deal the
industry another blow. The directive, which has yet to be rubber-stamped
by the EU, proposes to raise the minimum age for riding motorcycles over
125cc from 17 to 19. Novices who want a licence to ride any bike will have
to be over 24..."

***

How come an 18 year-old new driver is allowed to drive any normal car with
an engine far exceeding 125cc in size?

I imagine motorcyclists are involved in crashes and collisions in higher
proportion to their kilometres driven than car drivers... but isnt most of
the damage to the motorcyclists themselves?

Of course motorcycles are noisy, polluting and create road chaos - as
opposed to pedestrians, bicycles and guided-vehicles (rail and BRT) - but
these new laws are part of a trend to go after the "little guy", when it
is  private cars that doing the most damage and killing the most people
over all:

In the Czech Republic a law was passed recently to require helmets for
bicyclists up to age 18. The law was formerly for up to age 15. This will
probably turn away some from riding at all, keeping in mind how "uncool"
helmets might be for teenagers. (Another interesting aside is that a 15
year-old is allowed to have sex with anyone their age or older than them
here, so... a 15 year-old needs to put on a helmet to to visit their adult
boyfriend or girlfriend, etc.)

At the same time children and adults are being encouraged to wear things
like reflective vests and bright clothing, which are not required by law.
Children are given vests by their parents. To take this another step... EU
would probably like it to be the law that European children have
flourescent skin, huh?

In the Czech Republic there are some new laws coming into effect regarding
enforcement (point penalty system, etc) BUT nothing about reducing 50km/h
speed limit to 30km/h in built-up areas, which is the standard in many
European cities.

It seems to me logical to reduce car use with tougher restictions for
drivers, just as is being done for motorcylists. THAT is the very least
Brussels can do. (EU wants to reduce road deaths by 50% by 2010... BUT
Czechia wont meet the goal (not close) and if you tell me that only one of
my friends died rather than two... I wont exactly be happy!

I admit I am a little confused about what EU can regulate and what it
cant. Licenses for motorcyclists: YES, maybe because motorcyclists can go
everywhere in the EU. BUT 30km/h speedlimits in built-up areas? No. Why
not?  Because the built-up areas themselves cant cross borders? Dont EU
citizens deserve as similar traffic conditions as possible in all the
countries of the EU they visit or reside in?

If governments (and people) REALLY want to reduce road deaths, they need to:
* Remove as many cars as possible from the streets
* Slow down as much as possible many cars as possible which are still allowed
* Start teaching drivers that they are problematic guests in shared public
space between buildings....

... in addition to increasing public transport and railway funding (in
Germany funds for regional rail are being cut even as fuel prices go up:
This is the wrong way to decrease mobility.)...

... and of course ALSO setting a goal of perhaps 50% more carfree urban
areas (hectares) by 2010!!!

- T

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Todd Edelman
International Coordinator
On the Train Towards the Future!

Green Idea Factory
Laubova 5
CZ-13000 Praha 3

++420 605 915 970

edelman at greenidea.info
http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain

Green Idea Factory,
a member of World Carfree Network