Road safety – The FFMC is concerned about the government’s double talk –

Posted on by admin

The FFMC is concerned about the government’s double talk

Road safety - The FFMC is concerned about the government's double talk -

While tomorrow it will submit its proposals to improve road safety for motorized two-wheelers, the FFMC is publishing an open letter to Dominique Bussereau to denounce the government’s double-talk and to move things forward in concrete terms..

In addition to the consultation on the safety of motorized two-wheelers initiated since the spring by Michèle Merli (read in particular) with insurers, experts, road infrastructure technicians, researchers, representatives of local authorities, user associations , sports federations and professional unions, the FFMC will submit tomorrow its proposals to improve road safety for motorized two-wheelers.

But the biker defense association is now publishing a report to the Secretary of State in charge of transport Dominique Bussereau and the interministerial delegate for road safety Michèle Merli, to draw their attention to the need to find constructive progress for the safety of two-wheelers without falling into the sterile panel at all repressive…

It particularly regrets that the action of Road Safety is "locked into risky behavior (alcohol, excessive speed, vehicles that do not comply with regulations) while these behaviors remain in the minority" and "worse still, the recent announcements of firmness and the incessant reminders in the media to designate all the users of motorized two-wheelers as the "culprits" of a loss of which they are above all the main victims can unfortunately only strengthen the situation. disturbance in those who, like us, are increasing their efforts to convey messages of caution on the road".

"To put it bluntly, Minister, we have the feeling that we are dealing with "double talk": on the one hand we are invited to a large-scale consultation, on the other we are forced to take note. a targeted verbalization campaign for motorized two-wheelers on a scale unmatched to date", worries in particular the FFMC.

The association also recalls a few areas of work identified during the "fifteen meetings of the five working groups and the three plenary meetings chaired by Michèle Merli"to understand and analyze the accidentology of motorized two-wheelers:

  • In the event of accidents between a motorized two-wheeler and another vehicle (car, heavy goods vehicle), the drivers of the motorized two-wheelers are only responsible in one third of cases.

  • During these accidents, motorized two-wheelers are poorly detected by other users poorly trained in this coexistence..

  • Riders of motorized two-wheelers are overconfident in their approach to driving, they are not sufficiently aware of their extreme vulnerability.

  • The initial training of candidates for permits allowing driving a motorized two-wheeler is unsuitable because it is disconnected from the realities of road traffic usage or encourages rapid driving (timed route).

  • New users (young people accessing mopeds and motorists switching to 125 cm3 motorized two-wheelers or maxi-scooters in the "motorized tricycle" category) are not properly trained and made aware of the specific issues of road safety relating to the use of ” a motorized two-wheeler.

  • The regulations have not kept up with the evolution of traffic patterns and the increase in the number of motorized two-wheelers in current traffic.

  • Studies and recommendations aimed at making road infrastructures less dangerous for motorized two-wheeled users remain poorly understood by the services working on their implementation..

  • Scientifically speaking, knowledge of motorized two-wheelers (categories, uses, behavior) is still very embryonic among officials and politicians in charge of road safety issues..

The FFMC also specifies very clearly that these findings are not "felt supporters out of the helmet of biker associations" but good "what emerges from the working meetings of the participants in the consultation".

For all intents and purposes, it also recalls that if the users of motorized two-wheelers are obviously among the most vulnerable of all users of the public highway, "It must be recognized that the absence of bodywork for motorcyclists and moped riders, combined with the fact that they are the ones who are most likely to rub shoulders with all categories of other vehicles, contributes to making motorized two-wheelers the mode of riskiest transport".

"These risks also remain statistically high because the share of motorized two-wheelers in circulation has steadily increased over the past ten years (+ 60%)", while "Fortunately, the number of accidents suffered by motorized two-wheelers has not increased to the same extent, far from it".

The FFMC further recalls that "Despite the worrying figures for the start of the second half of 2009, the downward trend in road claims observed since the early 2000s also applies to bikers and mopeds, which shows that improvements are possible".

A good hearer … stay connected !

Related articles

Leave a Reply

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