EU motorcyclists present their opinion on motorcycle safety to Members of the European Parliament September 5th, Strasburg: FEMA will present its European Agenda for Motorcycle Safety at the 11th MEP Ride.

    Motorcycling offers an inexpensive, environmentally friendly and effective means of transport. Hence, the number of motorcycles on European roads has more than doubled over the last two decades. However, while motorcycling presents a solution to many of today’s mobility challenges, motorcycle safety is becoming an issue of concern for an ever-increasing number of stakeholders, who overlook the positive aspects motorcycling can bring to the transport mix.

    Road safety is an important issue for all motorcyclists. FEMA - representing European Motorcyclists’ Associations in Europe - wants to contribute to the motorcycle safety debate, and will be presenting the views of European motorcyclists with regards to acknowledged - and potential - motorcycle safety problems. The European Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (EAMS) offers a compilation of motorcyclists’ expertise, which takes into consideration the concerns and requirements of the end-users.

    The United States and the United Kingdom have recently set up motorcycle strategies with the aim of finding the most appropriate solutions to improve motorcycle safety. These recent examples show that the best way forward is to involve all motorcycle safety stakeholders from Industry to End-users and from National Transport authorities to local road safety experts. FEMA believes that this approach should be encouraged in Europe.

    FEMA’s contribution to the road safety debate is a document of over 80-pages. The European Agenda for Motorcycle Safety will be presented at the MEP Ride, FEMA’s annual motorcycle ride with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) which will start next Wednesday September 5th in front of the European Parliament in Strasburg.

    The EAMS underlines that motorcycles and motorcyclists have different characteristics from other vehicles and their drivers, and identifies the specific needs of motorcyclists that must be addressed along with those of other road users. It is aimed at providing legislators, decision makers and all stakeholders dealing with motorcycle safety, a summary of why motorcycle accidents happen from a rider’s perspective, as well as recommendations on how to improve motorcycle safety in some specific areas of concern.

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Notes to editor:
- Contact, registration, information: Virginie Peters Tel +32 (0)2 736 9047 - Mobile + 32 (0)484 976 170 - Email virginie.fema@chello.be - The Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) is the European federation of national road rider organisations. FEMA represents, defends and promotes motorcycling and the interests of million powered two-wheeler users across Europe. Through its 23 national organisations from 17 countries, FEMA reaches over 300,000 dedicated motorcyclists representing all social groups. http://www.fema.ridersrights.org