Successful focus event on Europe’s motorcycle safety

The European Motorcyclists' Forum at the INTERMOT fair in Cologne on October 3rd attracted a diverse audience ranging from motorcyclists and politicians to representatives of road authorities and the motorcycle industry. Organised by the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA), the event is a platform for discussion on safety, mobility and the future of two-wheel transport in Europe.
October 5, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The European Motorcyclists' Forum at the INTERMOT fair in Cologne on October 3rd attracted a diverse audience ranging from motorcyclists and politicians to representatives of road authorities and the motorcycle industry. Organised by the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (2906 Fema), the event is a platform for discussion on safety, mobility and the future of two-wheel transport in Europe.

The first contribution was made by Aline Delhaye, General Secretary of FEMA, who presented the RIDERSCAN project and the associated launch of a large scale motorcyclists' survey. Dr Liz de Rome came from Australia to present her findings on Australian accident research.

Claes Tingvall, Director of Traffic Safety 3530 Swedish Transport Administration, gave an introduction to Vision Zero, the Swedish safety approach aiming at reducing motorcycle fatalities to zero. Robbert Verweij, Senior Advisor at the Dutch 2556 Ministry of Transport, closed the morning session underlining the importance of including riders into safety policies at the earliest stage possible.

The afternoon opened with the user forum of the SIM2CO research project on rider training simulator development, followed by a panel discussion on training and licensing requirements led by FIM Director John Chatterton Ross. The panel featured prominent personalities Michael Pfeiffer, Editor in Chief of MOTORRAD, Castro Benitez Lopez whose unit at the 2465 European Commission is responsible for the implementation of the 3rd Driving Licence Directive, and Kaarsten Nikolaisen, Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

A second panel discussion on motorcyclist-friendly infrastructure was introduced by Maurice Anderson, FEMA Board Member, who presented a newly developed website allowing road authorities to search for motorcycle friendly guardrails as well as the publication of guidelines on the use and implementation of motorcycle protection systems.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Powered two wheeler safety plan for Europe
    November 16, 2015
    A new road safety strategy for powered two wheelers in Europe has been set out jointly following discussions. The results of analysis have been set out in a joint position statement by the bodies FEMA, FIM and FIM Europe. In the draft report FEMA and FIM have identified seven major areas of great importance that are in accordance with the positions of the riders’ organisations in Europe and elsewhere. Key recommendations and statements from the OECD-ITF draft report highlight issues for the safety of powe
    Read More
  • Europe's politicians continue to debate motorcycle safety issues
    April 27, 2012
    The European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) has voted in Brussels on its report on the proposal for a regulation on the approval and market surveillance of two- and three wheelers and quadricycles.
    Read More
  • New approach needed in Europe to help improve motorcycle safety
    August 22, 2012
    The European Commission is proposing that part of its controversial new Anti-Tampering regulations for motorcycles should be re-written to prevent custom motorcycle builders from using long-forks. This is the latest in a series of requirements in the regulations to attracted criticisms from motorcycle manufacturers, dealers, safety campaigners and enthusiasts groups.
    Read More
  • Motorcycle-Guardrail Crashes: How can the risk of severe injury and fatality be reduced?
    July 23, 2012
    The problem: motorcyclist fatalities can occur from a variety of accidents. But in the United States in 2005, motorcyclists comprised 42% of fatalities due to guardrail collisions, whereas only 3% of vehicles on the roads were motorcycles (Gabler, 2007). More motorcyclists were killed in guardrail collisions than passengers of any other vehicle type in 2005 (Gabler, 2007). Guardrails cannot simply be removed to protect motorcyclists. However, improvements need to be made in several areas in order to keep mo
    Read More

Highlighted Content