New rules which the EP claim will make motorcycles greener and safer, were provisionally agreed by MEPs and Council negotiators in a meeting on 28th of September. They cover a wide range of vehicles including mopeds, scooters, motorbikes, ATVs and Quads, and aim to make the introduction of ABS brakes mandatory for all new type-approved vehicles over 125cc.

The European parliament raporteur Wim van de camp (EPP,NL) said that he was happy with the agreement reached in the meeting saying:

"Of course safe motorcycling is largely the responsibility of the driver, but I think there is still some result to be gained with the technical aspects of the vehicle"

The new regulations lay down rules for all L-category vehicles in the EU, that's about 30 million vehicles in total.

MEPs say that they are aiming to make drivers of these vehicles safer, and the legislation will make the fitting of ABS brakes compulsory for 'bigger' motorbikes over 125cc and ABS or combined brake systems (CBS) fitted to smaller bikes and scooters under 125cc. Basically the new rules will apply to all type-approved motorcycles from 2016. Werner Kraus, president of the FIA region 1 (Federation Internationale de l'automobile) said at the meeting:

" Both the Council and Parliament have recognised the vital role that advanced technologies can play in reducing fatalities on our roads....In the current economic climate, smaller motorcycles have proved to be an increasingly popular option for travel in urban cities....we welcome the idea of carrying out a cost-effective analysis in 4 years which will look once again at the potential of safety systems for smaller bikes"

They also want to bring in new measures to prevent alteration of powertrains to make vehicles go faster. This will apply to new A1 (125cc bikes/scooters) and A2 (48bhp bikes/scooters), the exact details are going to be decided by the commission and experts over the next few months. The raft of measures will be examined over the next four years and a cost-effectiveness analysis presented to see if the rules should be revised.

L-category vehicles also have high emissions so MEPs want to bring these down by extending the Euro 3 standards to mopeds from January 2016.

Wim van de Camp said:

" For heavy motorcycles the more stringent Euro 4 standards would apply from 2016, and Euro 5 limits from 2020. Again the commission will have to carry out a comprehensive environmental impact study by 1 Jan 2016 to evaluate the air quality and share of pollutants emitted by L-category vehicles"

These proposals were all put forward at the end of September and are waiting to be voted on at a second Internal Market Committee vote in October. The measures will be fully endorsed on November 19th when there will be a plenary full parliamentary vote when everyone will have a chance to attend.

The FIA region 1 represents 106 touring and motoring clubs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from its office in Brussels - a hefty total of more than 36 million members and says that its primary goal is to secure mobility that is safe, environmentally friendly, affordable, sustainable and efficient. In order to do this, its work focusses on road safety, consumer protection, environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable motoring.

What do you think? Are these measures going to be beneficial to motorcyclists in the long term or not - we would like to hear your opinion so send us a comment.

What they finally agree, and the implications for current drivers of the affected vehicles remains to be seen - we will update you when the legislation gets rubber stamped.