"Consider banning motorcycles from the UK"

[Mr Nice Guy]

Consider banning motorcycles, police tell MPs
By Steve Farrell

Politics & the law

05 November 2008 15:46


The time has come to consider banning motorcycles from the roads, police chiefs have told MPs.

They are ‘motorised toys’ which may not be ‘fit for purpose’ on public highways, the Association of Chief Police Officers told the Commons Transport Committee.

The association based its call on the false claim that production motorcycles are ‘readily available’ with tops speeds of over 200mph. In fact not a single production motorcycle has broken the 200mph barrier.

The association said: ‘Production machines are readily available for use on our roads with top speeds in excess of 200mph. Motorcycles are seen in the UK to be, in the majority of instances, vehicles of choice rather than necessity and one might consider if our congested roads are any longer fit for purpose for these motorised toys.’

The comments have been published in a report by the committee on road safety. They were part of ACPO’s official response to a committee consultation.

The ACPO memo calls for the creation of no-motorcycle zones and points to power caps. It states: ‘There is a need for radical thinking in respect of motorcycles, including consideration of engine capability and the creation of protection zones where all motorcycles other than those specifically permitted would be prohibited.’

The association also calls for motorcycles to be fitted with chips to allow police to identify them from a distance, and tougher penalties for illegal number plates. It says: ‘The detection of motorcycling offences is problematic, encouraging non-compliance. This includes Vehicle Excise Duty evasion on a massive scale.

'For this reason, stricter penalties should be introduced for non-compliant registration plates and further work should be done on the development of such products as number plates containing chips that will allow automated vehicle identification, even at high speeds.’

In fact official Government research shows just 6.5% of motorcycles are untaxed.
MCN asked ACPO to defend its claims. The association has yet to do so.

Read the report, including ACPO's comments, here: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtran/460/460.pdf


Pinched from MCN

Utter bollocks.
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Suzuki GSX-R750K4 ~ Mivv GP

[JoshroyD]

the roads would be a lot safer place if everyone rode bikes. damn practicality!
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Current: '89 GSXR400R
A2 passed 11/08/2008

[AchemaenianPr...]

Its like saying that we should ban women to stop rape

Saudi Arabia here we come

[JoshroyD]

why did it have to be rape?
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Current: '89 GSXR400R
A2 passed 11/08/2008

[Bendy]

[UnknownStuntm...]

Well, my bike is a toy. I pay for it, quite a lot in fact.

Thing is, if he considers recreational use of the public highway misuse, then surely this has far wider consequences than just bikes...

Posh cars (or to be specific, those that can exceed a distance of 70 miles in a given hour) would be banned.

And those that stay would only be allowed to use the roads for legitimate purposes; going to and from work. Obviously if you live less than 10 miles away from your work you're expected to walk or use the fantastic public 'transport' system.

And so....

People buy dogs and cats as pets - they're not needed so they'll all be banned.

Playstations, Wiis, Xboxes and so on would obviously need to be re-engineered to accept only word processing or spreadsheet applications.

Television programming would be adjusted so that it's public information only, I would guess...

Music is essentially pointless and would therefore be banned.

Colours that excite the mind would also be banned. The public would be allowed to see several shades of grey only......

[bazza]

[Nufkamp]

Are you going to take the chance of this being utter bollocks, or would you rather shell out £20 and help support one of the biker's rights groups? We can all sit here and postulate how it will never come to pass, but the only way to fight it is to give our support to organisations that can and will put up that fight on our behalf.

Please, if you care about your 'expensive toys' then make a difference, join MAG (or the BMF) and do something positive! None of us wants to be sitting here in 5 years time reminiscing on the good old days before the ban.
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As seen on Google Street View https://tinyurl.com/yfdvojc

[Itchy]

[AchemaenianPr...]

Gives a whole new meaning to Police State

and yes the pun is intended

[Luke_Retrofly]

Its from MCN, the daily express of motorcycle weekly's

And if it does happen, there fuck all we can do about it, yay democracy

[killa]

It wont happen, what do you do with all the machines and importing/exporting?
Dump them in the sea i guess.

I wont be paying tax for my second year now, fuc* the po po and no, you wont be taking my bike anywhere.
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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[Kickstart]

Hi

Short term I don't see it happening. Long term it wouldn't surprise me.

If it happened and you were lucky you might get some low price for your bike if you handed it in like the firearms ban). More likely you would just be left with something worthless (like the ban on 3 wheel ATVs in the late 1980s).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Luke_Retrofly]

4 wheeled motorcycles?

Loop holes hold the key

[rotax81]

steve farrel from MCN is a total gobshite

if MCN did not make up stories then it wouldnt exist. it doesnt deserve to exist in my opinion.

buy tesco bog rolls, the read is better and they are cheaper
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ZX636C6F road. ZX636C1H track. ZX7R redundant. ZX0.5R minimoto as ornament.
Audi A4 Avant 1.9TDi and VW Transporter 2.5TDi 888 Special (no mot and tax lol)

[Jaloopa]

I've been looking through the linked report, and seen no mention of the "over 200 mph" claims, no-bike zones or identity chips. It highlights that although there has been an increase in bike deaths recently, this is more than balanced out by the increase in bikes on the roads. Bike deaths increased by 26%, but bikes on the road increased by 95% and distance travelled was up by 33%.

Three quarters of bike deaths involved another vehicle and in most of these cases the cause was inattention by the other party. Other countries with lower rates of bike fatalities have roads more suited to bikes and more driver awareness of bikers.

The main recommendations seem to be more driver education regarding bikers, more focus on attitude since people appear to be aware of good driving practice but choose to ignore it, a ban on advertising vehicles' top speeds, and 80mph limiters for all vehicles. Positive and negative points for these strategies were considered, including the idea that speed is not a killer on its own (something like 12% of serious accidents had exceeding the speed limit as a causal effect, but not necessarily the only or main reason) and that driver inattention and attitude is a worse factor.
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mattsprattuk wrote: but at least the lifan could do like 104mph in 3rd gear

[LeeR]

My bike's not a toy it's my vehicle of choice for commuting to work, and as such saves me 7.5-8 hours a week.

That's 7.5-8 hours I can spend with my family (cementing one of the finer principles of our great nation). Also it's 7.5-8 hours not sat on the public highway adding to congestion, or burning fossil fuels and emitting carbon pollutants.

I was under the impression that:

All Japanese bikes were restricted (by the manufacturers) to 186mph.

Tax evasion "on a massive scale" had been debunked earlier this year.

Small plates were less of a real issue than other vehicle "crime" and the police were taking a pragmatic approach.

Is this information current, I mean has the report only just been published, even though the details have been debated earlier in the year?

Will joining MAG actually help?
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My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[Major_Grooves]

I've not found that particular section (and I'm not going to read the whole thing) but what I have read in relation to bikes is generally positive. They make the point that the UK government doesn't take motorbike safety seriously.

[Towton 1461]

[Nufkamp]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Mudskipper]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Personally I would say join both.

Their membership massively outweighs that of the various anti bike and anti car organisations (eg, Living Streets, Brake, etc).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Nufkamp]

I'm treasurer of my local MAG group, but only mentioned the BuMflufF as there seems to be a few people down on MAG.
Of course I'd rather you joined MAG than one of the others.

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As seen on Google Street View https://tinyurl.com/yfdvojc

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