There Are Just Days Left to Sign This Potentially Life Saving Petition

You have just a handful of days left to sign a petition that could prove to be a lifesaver. It aims to prevent dodgy, poor quality motorcycle kit from hitting the shelves in the UK. But for it to go in front of parliament, it needs just a few more signatures.

Getting bombarded with adverts showing so-called motorcycle clothing at unbelievably low prices is a daily occurrence.

And as my dad still says, "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is". The UK and Europe have some of the most stringent safety standards for motorcycle PPE in the world, and reputable manufacturers throw lots of money into research to make the kit we wear safer than ever. But for every by-the-book manufacturer there is, countless more look to shortcut the legislation and flood the market with cheap, sub-standard, and in many cases downright dangerous, motorcycle clothing.

The reason is money. By building cheaply, many use Asian manufacturing plants, and not spending money on testing or regulatory certification, brands that make and sell knock-off bike clothing and equipment stand to make big profits. All while putting the health and well-being of bikers at risk.

That needs to change, and in this story, our knight in shining D3O is Mr Paul Varnsverry. He’s a well-known advocate for rider safety and an expert in motorcycle PPE testing and regulations. He’s also quite keen on holding those who make and sell dodgy gear to account. To help grease the wheels, Varnsverry has launched a petition, urging the UK Government to work harder to prevent unregulated and potentially dangerous motorcycle clothing from landing in the hands of UK bikers. But his petition needs your help to make it into the corridors of power, and the deadline for it to hit 10,000 signatures is looking large.

Specifically, Varnsverry wants checks to be carried out on parcels marked as motorcycle clothing, that have emanated from countries known to be producing potentially hazardous products. The UK motorcycle industry, which sells mostly from distributors or retailers directly to the consumer, already has layers of legislation in place to ensure that products are compliant. There is a new wave of retail outlets, though, which target customers via social media and sell directly from the factory to the consumer. With most of these outlets utilising manufacturing bases outside of the UK and EU, many have been found to be uncompliant with the latest motorcycle PPE regulations, but the direct-to-consumer model they employ helps them to fly under the radar of the law.

The petition is sitting on 6,300 signatures at the time of writing, although it will require 10,000 to prompt a response from the government. There are currently more than one million registered and licenced motorcyclists in the UK. And if just a small proportion of those take action, we might finally see some change.

You can sign the petition here.

For clarity, the motorcycle clothing and products pictured in this article are all compliant with UK regulations, apart from the jacket at the top of the page, which is from the now closed-down BikersLifestyle website.

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