Europe: No mandatory motorcycle testing

European motorcyclists have won a significant round in the long-running debate over mandatory roadworthiness testing, as EU transport ministers agreed their position on the Roadworthiness Package this week. 

The Council of the European Union has set its stance on future rules for periodic inspections, roadside checks, and vehicle registration data. Crucially, motorcycles remain outside compulsory testing.

Denmark currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and its Transport Minister, Thomas Danielsen, welcomed the outcome. “I am pleased that we have reached a positive outcome and that we now have a general approach on both proposals in the package,” he said, per FEMA, adding that the agreement modernises vehicle testing and data registration “while minimising administrative burden.” In other words: fewer hoops to jump through, without tearing up existing rules for riders.

The package itself updates three EU directives covering periodic roadworthiness tests, roadside inspections for commercial vehicles, and registration documents. Despite early proposals that would have tightened testing schedules across Europe, ministers have opted to stick with the system already in place.

Under the Council’s position, the frequency and scope of technical inspections remain unchanged. That means no switch to annual MOT-style checks after a motorcycle reaches 10 years old, and no move to drag every bike in Europe into mandatory testing. The current exemption that keeps motorcycles out of compulsory inspections is staying put for now.

With the Council position now set, the next step is negotiation with the European Parliament once it adopts its own stance. That phase is where lobbying and technical evidence begin to matter most, and riders’ organisations have spent months laying the groundwork.

Advocacy groups such as FEMA (Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations) and the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) have been busy in Brussels, submitting formal briefs to the Commission, Parliament, and Member States. Their message has been that technical defects are one of the smallest contributors to motorcycle accidents. Riders, they argue, don’t wait for a government test to fix a brake pad like a car driver might - because the consequences of poor maintenance are instant and in some cases fatal.

“Europe’s motorcyclists maintain their bikes because their lives depend on it,” said FEMA’s Wim Taal. He pointed to data showing far bigger gains in safety through education, infrastructure improvements, and driver awareness, rather than blanket inspection schemes. FEMA and FIM aren’t rejecting safety efforts, but pushing for targeted measures — training where it’s needed, inspections only where evidence supports them, and roads designed with bikes in mind.

Negotiations with the Parliament could reshape the outcome, but for now, the Council’s position marks a rare EU win for common sense. Riders in continental Europe will be hoping it holds.

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