Motorbike test campaign gathers pace
24th March 2010
Sixty MPs from across the House of Commons have joined Anne Main's campaign to tackle the problems surrounding the new motorcycle test. Around 1,500 motorcycle activists across the country are urging their MPs to sign up to a Parliamentary Motion proposed by Anne after the Motorcycle Action Group threw its weight behind the campaign, in collaboration with Motorcycle News and other Motorcycle groups.
Changes to the motorcycle test saw 50,000 fewer learners take the motorcycle test in the last eight months of 2009, compared to the same period on 2008. The number of passes also declined significantly, and the new ‘stop and swerve’ manoeuvre has led to dozens of accidents. The decline in numbers taking the test follows the introduction of a new test in April 2009.
This week, the House of Commons Select Committee issued a report on the new test, highlighting the problems and condemning the millions spent on the controversial new 'super test centres'.
Anne said:
“Riders across the country are urging their Members of Parliament to sign up to this campaign, and the Transport Select Committee report supports the genuine concerns of motorcyclists across the country about the new test.
When I asked the Prime Minister to look into this matter, he was obviously totally unaware of the safety issues and difficulties facing thousands of motorcyclists. The new ‘stop and swerve’ manoeuvre has led to dozens of accidents and learner riders in St Albans now have to travel a long way to get to a ‘super test centre’. I fail to see why this has to be the case when no other country in Europe has found it necessary to build these centres.
We must, as a matter of road safety urgency, review this failed project. The Transport Committee has concluded that the Government was slow and dogmatic in its approach to test centres, failing to listen adequately to the motorcycle industry. The Government must ‘Think Bike’, and take on board the legitimate concerns that riders have about these tests. We cannot let riders down by asking them to engage in a testing procedure that obviously has major problems.”
