Road safety – 14 proposals to make motorcyclists safer –

Posted on by admin

14 proposals to make bikers safe

Road safety - 14 proposals to make motorcyclists safer -

The insurer AXA Club 14 has just formulated 14 proposals aimed at secure bikers for improve the practice of motorcycling in France. For Moto-Net, the interministerial delegate for road safety Remy Heitz reviewed them.

The insurer AXA Club 14, which claims "300,000 members"in France, has just formulated 14 proposals aimed at improve the practice of motorcycling and to secure bikers. For Moto-Net, the interministerial delegate for road safety Remy Heitz has agreed to review them..

The 14 proposals issued by the insurer AXA via AXA Prevention and Club 14 take into account three factors: the machine, the rider and his behavior.

Day fires

Unlike the Mutuelle des Motards, which clearly spoke out against the experiment (read), Club 14 does not recommend the abolition of this measure and specifies that in the event of adoption of the switching on of daytime running lights for motorists, it will be necessary to "find a way to identify two-wheelers differently". The speech is particularly polished and Serge Morelli, president of Club 14, recalls that"It is only at the start of the 2005 school year that we will be able to assess the effectiveness of the daytime running lights campaign.".

Philippe Monneret (former pilot, owner of the motorcycle schools of the same name and commentator on Eurosport), insists that "the road is shared, we can not refuse more safety for motorists". AXA notably cites the example of maritime navigation, which provides for different color codes and flashing rates according to the categories of boats and cargoes..

Will we soon see red turn signals on port and green on starboard on our mounts? Or oscillating lights at the top of a large mast fitted as standard on the new models of the 2005 World Cup? " An evaluation of the experiment is underway. We must work to identify motorcyclists differently", considers for his part the interministerial delegate for road safety, Remy Heitz.

Bus lanes

Regarding traffic in the bus lanes, Philippe Monneret believes "unfortunate that it is prohibited on the assumption that bikers will not respect the speed limits. We must trust respectful bikers, even if it means verbalizing those who do not respect the rules".

The second argument that goes against this solution is the presence in the corridors of our cycling cousins: cohabitation with non-motorized two-wheelers is however possible, as we saw during our interviews with Parisian cyclists ( read). "The problem is the speed difference: by limiting it to 35 or 40 km / h, the risks would be very limited."says the former pilot.

The interministerial delegate prefers to skilfully kick in touch by indicating that "this decision is the responsibility of local authorities".

Raising the queues

Prohibited by the highway code, backing up the lines is widely practiced by two-wheeled drivers. As Monneret points out, if we conceive of the motorcycle as an efficient tool in an urban environment, it is "idiot"not being able to do it! Eric Le Maire, president of AXA Prevention, even adds that"would be nice to be able to identify a hallway".

AXA Prevention and Club 14 therefore suggest that motorcyclists can go up "between the two left-most lanes, only slightly exceeding the speed of the flow of cars and respecting motorists who would like, for example, to change lanes".

The practice is already not considered a crime in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Switzerland, a petition gathering 17,524 signatures was filed in this sense in Bern by the Motorcycle Parliamentary Group and the Biker Community of Interest.

Cautious, Remy Heitz prefers not to comment because "a working group is currently studying the file. ". Despite everything, the materialization of a corridor him"seems technically complicated. We have to be very careful what we do", he explains to Moto-Net, recalling moreover that"many accidents occur during this practice, hence our increased controls aimed at sanctioning risky behavior"…

Parking in town

Another topic in vogue lately: the parking of two-wheelers in town (read and). AXA believes that "either increase the spaces on the roadway, or accept the parking of two-wheelers on the sidewalks with rules and arrangements". Remy Heitz is naturally"for the resolution of this problem", but specifies that"this subject concerns local authorities and not the State"…

Young permits

The fifth proposal concerns the application of the decree of July 4, 1996, which regulates the weight / power ratio of two-wheelers. According to AXA, the measure concerning the limit of 25 KW (or 34 hp) "has some drawbacks": the reduced supply of motorcycles of less than 34 hp, restraint with limited techniques that are easy to circumvent and training in school motorcycles on non-restrained machines at 34 hp. The proposal therefore consists of"replace, during the probationary period for those under 21, the limitation to 34 hp by a new probationary period measure whatever the age: the weight / power ratio".

For Philippe Monneret, it is about "do something more logical: why learn on a motorcycle that develops 50 to 60 hp and drive a 34 hp for two years ?". It is according to their weight / power ratio that the motorcycle models would or not be accessible to new licenses. Another proposal also recommends progressive access to power, through driving courses … at Monneret by example !

" The European directive on the driving license under discussion provides for a reorganization of the progressive access to the motorcycle, in particular with a power increased from 34 to 50 CV. There are no plans to set up a progressive access system with several power levels depending on the age of the driver. Such a system would be too heavy to create and especially to manage, which is why I think that manufacturers and insurers have an important role to play.", says Remy Heitz.

Technical control

Facing an aging motorcycle park and bikers "more and more of them are not able to maintain their machine on their own", AXA and Club 14 offer a"technical inspection not imposed which could lead to a bonus system for drivers who frequently have their motorcycle checked". An idea that Remy Heitz does not particularly agree with:"we do not want to increase the cost of using the motorcycle"he promises…

Open the circuits !

AXA is also taking over initiatives to open up French circuits. Launched in 2002 by the Mutuelle des Motards under the leadership of Christophe Guyot, the file has hardly advanced since (read and).

Asked by Moto-Net about this delay in advancing the case, Remy Heitz evokes "the financial and structural difficulties we are encountering. The State subsidizes such actions even if it remains of a limited scope. Local and national partnerships facilitate access to the circuits. The question is to demonstrate the impact of these actions in the advancement of road safety."…

Prevention, equipment and compliance with the rules

AXA still advocates the establishment of a "driving course for B licenses wishing to switch to the 125"and recalls the need to"equip yourself completely" and of "wear the helmet correctly", two imperatives widely supported by Remy Heitz, insofar as they fit perfectly with the official Road Safety campaign on the fragility of two-wheelers (read). Compliance with noise standards is also encouraged by Remy Heitz, even s ‘he "regrets that a fifteenth proposal does not advocate respect for the rules in general, speed limits in particular…".

The improvement of road infrastructure and the doubling of guardrails are also part of AXA’s proposals. Remy Heitz recalls on this occasion that "three million euros will be spent on doubling the slides this year".

To try to get its 14 proposals through, Club 14 has recently joined the National Road Safety Council (CNSR, read) and intends to make its voice and those of its "heard"300,000 members". However, we remember the heaviness encountered by the FFMC within this same council, which had slammed the door last year (read)…

Will Club 14 be able to make the voice of bikers heard better with the public authorities, the media and other "TF1 approved" organizations? In the meantime, Remy Heitz welcomes this new arrival: "we have to work with the entire motorcycle world (manufacturers, dealers, users, insurers, etc.). We also work with Club 14, which is a relevant contact".

Finally, questioned on the maintenance of the "States General of the motorcycle" proposed by Gilles de Robien, the former transport minister now converted into national education (read), the interministerial delegate explains that he "can’t say at the moment, as a point needs to be made with Mr. Perben (former Minister of Justice turned Minister of Transport, Editor’s note), but there is no reason that they should not take place".

Matthieu BRETILLE and Eric MICHEL

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *