Government and National Motorcyclists council open talks

THE National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) and the UK Government have begun preliminary talks to explore the potential next steps in creating policies specific to PTW users.

The news comes just a month after the NMC was formed, and it is hoped that the NMC will now join policy discussion groups within the government to help devise and refine a Government Motorcycle Strategy.

Meetings between the NMC members and parliament have already taken place, with MPs welcoming the NMC’s combined approach and the wide range of subjects that enables it to cover. The NMC is made up of the ACU, BMF, IAM RoadSmart, MAG and the TRF.

The NMC are making the case for a new motorcycling strategy to cover the following areas:

• Motorcycling within government transport policy, plus policy advocacy
• Improvements to safety and training policy
• Access to bus lanes and other priority measures
• Full consideration of motorcycling as environmental challenges and opportunities evolve
• Incentivisation for motorcycling, both for people to ride and also for safety
• Accessibility to a full road network designed to keep motorcyclists safe
• An effective response to motorcycle theft and crime
• A positive policy for use of rural green roads and for motorcycle use in rural communities
• Changes to government regulation as it relates to motorcycle sport, plus realising the social and economic potential of the sport
• Consideration of motorcyclists' needs in areas of the statutory regulation of traffic on both sealed and green roads

NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch said:

“This early progress is extremely welcome. We have been delighted with the willingness by the government to engage so soon after the NMC's launch. The range of expertise across the motorcycling organisations that have been brought together by the NMC seems to have been a clear factor in this positive approach from the government, providing as it does a ‘reference point’ for the common views of motorcycle riding representative groups on a range of consensus policy areas.

“Creating a fresh strategy for a whole transport mode is, on the face of it, a daunting task given the wide range of urgent issues that face wider UK public policy at the moment. But these early steps reveal a willingness by the government to further explore the policy issues facing motorcycling, several of which have previously been highlighted by individual NMC members. Clearly, at this early stage, no promises are being made, but the NMC feels that this early engagement is a good start to the work that will be needed to develop the new strategy.”

To find out more about the NMC, head to : www.uknmc.org