Post by derek on Aug 12, 2013 22:01:14 GMT
12th August 2013
In May this year, the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas (Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate) Joint Committee on Transport and Communications sent its opinion to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union regarding the Road Worthiness Testing (RWT) proposal.
In reference to motorcycling the opinion, “Is of the view that the merits of testing motorbikes needs to be further explored and proven before introducing roadworthiness testing of motorbikes in Ireland.”
The opinion was submitted before the July vote in the European Parliament, however the opinion aligned itself with the TRAN (Transport & Tourism) committee’s amendment to the European Commission’s proposal which was to remove motorcycles from the proposal with the caveat that:“No later than [three years from the date of publication of this Regulation], the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the inclusion of two- or three-wheel vehicles into the scope of this Regulation.”
However, the majority of MEPs voted against undertaking this objective study and voted for amendments that put motorcycles back into the proposal.
At Right To Ride we are “apolitical” which means we are politically neutral, however UK MEPs who voted against the proposal in the main have been MEPs (Conservative Party) in the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) those who voted for the proposal were MEPs (Liberal Democrats Party) in the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and MEPs (Labour Party) in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D).
So at this stage in the proposal in the European Parliament, Conservative MEPs have been well briefed, they have listened to UK Citizens concerns and those of our European Counterparts (including motorcyclists) to get the best deal for us in the proceedings. Compared to other MEPs, their parties and groups, they are certainly more savvy about motorcycling.
However, we would like to point out that we actually consider road worthiness testing to be beneficial for motorcycles because it ensures a minimum standard of technical quality for motorcycles on the roads. However we are also of the opinion that this must always be a national decision based on the needs and requirements of each country and their citizens.
In other words, based on all the evidence, it is blindingly obvious that these are the wrong proposals at the wrong time.
These proposals demonstrate once again that the European Commission is out of touch with the Member States and has not considered the economic impact that these proposals would have on the various countries within the European Union.
Simply, our view is that the three proposals in the Road Worthiness Testing package need to be thrown out: no more amendments, no more compromises, no more opinions – just withdrawn!
Read the full article on Right To Ride EU - www.righttoride.eu/?p=11588
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Sainsburys Parking Bangor
12th August 2013
Over on the Right To Ride Facebook page there was some discussion regarding the issue of other vehicles using the motorcycle parking at Sainsburys in Bangor.
Back in November 2011 we reported on the new Sainsbury’s being built beside Homebase in Bangor had a dedicated motorcycle parking bay opposite the front doors of the new store.
Back then we gave Sainsbury’s a ten out of ten for providing dedicated motorcycle parking.
However in June we received a comment about the parking facilities at Sainsburys in Bangor, “Yes, the bike parking area in front of the new Bangor Sainsburys is very nice, unless some twat in their (usually SUV type) car hasn’t decided to park in it because it’s closer to the door.”
This stirred our curiosity up so we contacted Sainsburys and put the issue out on Facebook and the website, not only did we receive a reply from Sainsburys but other riders had already contacted Sainsburys.
The message we got back from Sainsburys was – the car park is owned by a private estate company, Sainsburys have tried to get bollards installed but this has been objected to by the landlords. There does appear to be an issue for disabled people (and perhaps others) parking in the motorcycle bay because the motorcycle parking is closer to the store than the disabled spaces. The issue of the bollards is being pushed by the store manager and they are looking towards getting this resolved!
But with our own past experience of cars and motorcycles mixed in a “shared” space can lead to your motorcycle being reversed into and knocked over…………………………..
One might wonder if the private estate company would be responsible for or admit liability if property damage to a motorcycle or physical injury to rider is caused, giving that the problem has been pointed out and a solution has been suggested – bollards!
Also to bear in mind that we are aware that other Sainsburys with similar motorcycle parking spaces are protected by bollards.
On the other hand one might have a concern if we complained to much then the parking would be removed.
But nobody would be as thran as that would they?
If you have any pictures of the parking at Sainsburys Bangor we would love to see them!
Full article and pictures at Right To Ride – www.righttoride.co.uk/top-issues/campaigns/sainsburys-parking-bangor/
Trevor Baird
www.righttoride.co.uk
www.righttoride.eu
www.rideitright.org
www.firstaidforriders.org
www.bikernisafetycard.org
trevor.baird@righttoride.co.uk
Mobile: 07747604119
Phone: 02842 757131
In May this year, the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas (Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate) Joint Committee on Transport and Communications sent its opinion to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union regarding the Road Worthiness Testing (RWT) proposal.
In reference to motorcycling the opinion, “Is of the view that the merits of testing motorbikes needs to be further explored and proven before introducing roadworthiness testing of motorbikes in Ireland.”
The opinion was submitted before the July vote in the European Parliament, however the opinion aligned itself with the TRAN (Transport & Tourism) committee’s amendment to the European Commission’s proposal which was to remove motorcycles from the proposal with the caveat that:“No later than [three years from the date of publication of this Regulation], the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the inclusion of two- or three-wheel vehicles into the scope of this Regulation.”
However, the majority of MEPs voted against undertaking this objective study and voted for amendments that put motorcycles back into the proposal.
At Right To Ride we are “apolitical” which means we are politically neutral, however UK MEPs who voted against the proposal in the main have been MEPs (Conservative Party) in the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) those who voted for the proposal were MEPs (Liberal Democrats Party) in the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and MEPs (Labour Party) in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D).
So at this stage in the proposal in the European Parliament, Conservative MEPs have been well briefed, they have listened to UK Citizens concerns and those of our European Counterparts (including motorcyclists) to get the best deal for us in the proceedings. Compared to other MEPs, their parties and groups, they are certainly more savvy about motorcycling.
However, we would like to point out that we actually consider road worthiness testing to be beneficial for motorcycles because it ensures a minimum standard of technical quality for motorcycles on the roads. However we are also of the opinion that this must always be a national decision based on the needs and requirements of each country and their citizens.
In other words, based on all the evidence, it is blindingly obvious that these are the wrong proposals at the wrong time.
These proposals demonstrate once again that the European Commission is out of touch with the Member States and has not considered the economic impact that these proposals would have on the various countries within the European Union.
Simply, our view is that the three proposals in the Road Worthiness Testing package need to be thrown out: no more amendments, no more compromises, no more opinions – just withdrawn!
Read the full article on Right To Ride EU - www.righttoride.eu/?p=11588
----------------------
Sainsburys Parking Bangor
12th August 2013
Over on the Right To Ride Facebook page there was some discussion regarding the issue of other vehicles using the motorcycle parking at Sainsburys in Bangor.
Back in November 2011 we reported on the new Sainsbury’s being built beside Homebase in Bangor had a dedicated motorcycle parking bay opposite the front doors of the new store.
Back then we gave Sainsbury’s a ten out of ten for providing dedicated motorcycle parking.
However in June we received a comment about the parking facilities at Sainsburys in Bangor, “Yes, the bike parking area in front of the new Bangor Sainsburys is very nice, unless some twat in their (usually SUV type) car hasn’t decided to park in it because it’s closer to the door.”
This stirred our curiosity up so we contacted Sainsburys and put the issue out on Facebook and the website, not only did we receive a reply from Sainsburys but other riders had already contacted Sainsburys.
The message we got back from Sainsburys was – the car park is owned by a private estate company, Sainsburys have tried to get bollards installed but this has been objected to by the landlords. There does appear to be an issue for disabled people (and perhaps others) parking in the motorcycle bay because the motorcycle parking is closer to the store than the disabled spaces. The issue of the bollards is being pushed by the store manager and they are looking towards getting this resolved!
But with our own past experience of cars and motorcycles mixed in a “shared” space can lead to your motorcycle being reversed into and knocked over…………………………..
One might wonder if the private estate company would be responsible for or admit liability if property damage to a motorcycle or physical injury to rider is caused, giving that the problem has been pointed out and a solution has been suggested – bollards!
Also to bear in mind that we are aware that other Sainsburys with similar motorcycle parking spaces are protected by bollards.
On the other hand one might have a concern if we complained to much then the parking would be removed.
But nobody would be as thran as that would they?
If you have any pictures of the parking at Sainsburys Bangor we would love to see them!
Full article and pictures at Right To Ride – www.righttoride.co.uk/top-issues/campaigns/sainsburys-parking-bangor/
Trevor Baird
www.righttoride.co.uk
www.righttoride.eu
www.rideitright.org
www.firstaidforriders.org
www.bikernisafetycard.org
trevor.baird@righttoride.co.uk
Mobile: 07747604119
Phone: 02842 757131