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FEMA Partners - Asociacion Mutua Motera Spain
 Juan Manuel Reyes from fellow member group AMM Spain tells us that the reason for AMM to join FEMA was that we must join forces to get the European Institutions moving for our rights and force our national governments to do so also.
Interview by Ralf Bretveld 2008
Picture Wim Taal MAG NL
RB: How many active motorcyclists are there in your country and how many of them are a member of your organisation?
JMR: It is difficult to say in terms of individual motorcyclists, but in Spain there are 4 active organizations or associations. The AMM, with 15.800 associates, the PMSV (Motards Platform for Security on Road) with around 35 people, the LM (Motards in Fight) with around 55 associates, and MA (Motards in Action) with around 25 members. Our organisation, AMM, is growing with around 200 members per month.
RB: Would you say your organisation is well known in your country, among bikers as well as among the general public and other parties, such as politicians?
JMR: Well, I think so, we are very well known in the internet world, known amongst biker in the real world on an acceptable level and quite well known by the Official Administrations and politicians. In fact, we are the motorcyclist representatives in the main institutions of the Government, such as de “Working Group for Motorcycle & Mopeds Road Security” or many other working groups created bye regional Government as Catalonia, Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha, Navarra, Vasc Country and others.
RB: Besides fighting for riders’ rights, are there other activities your organisation is involved in?
JMR: Yes, there are. We have a road security department which works on development of the materials of official working groups. This department has an annual program called “Our eyes keep watching for road security”.
This program consists of denouncing those road problems (with picture included) that can put motorcyclists in danger. If the government doesn’t fix the problem in a short period of time we take it to the legal courts. We also have an education department that visits schools to give speeches and road training to the kids and teenagers. We have a discount program on bikers shops and services. We have an agreement with Repsol to get 2% of discount on gasoline and other fuel.
We are creating an advanced riding school to show riders how to ride better and in a more secure and safe way, to avoid accidents and to teach them how to act in case of an accident to save as many lives as possible. We have an insurance department that gets discounts for our members. This department is developing to an insurance mutuality, as the Mutuelle des Motard in France. We hope to get that done in two or three years.
We have a magazine for the members. And finally in this long list, we have a legal department that advice and defend our members in case they are in trouble with the government (as in demonstrations, traffic faults, accidents, etc.)
RB: Could you give some examples of the important successes achieved by your organisation?
JMR: After our last demonstrations we have forced the government to create a working group for Motorcycle & Mopeds Road Safety, in which the ministry of traffic and the ministry of road construction are represented together with the motorcyclists, the manufacturers, the insurance companies, the councils of Madrid and Barcelona and some other institutions. We have forced the Government to start to install motorcycle friendly crash barriers.
We have heard about the first accident in which a motorcyclist crashed into one of these motorcycle friendly items with the result of just light injuries, so we think we have saved our first live. After more than 130 denounces against the road administration because of serious defects on road safety, we’ve got around 54 road fixed.
The chief of the road safety department of the AMM got awarded the Honour Medal of the Road in 2007, from the Spanish Road Association with the Ministry of Road Construction.
RB: What are the main subjects you are working on at this moment?
JMR: The road safety for motorcycles in general; motorcycle friendly crash barriers, some programs with the local Administrations (Madrid for example) to promote the use of motorcycles, and of course the realisation of an education for Experts on Road Safety in collaboration with the Zaragoza University, so it will be an official title.
RB: Are there any subjects that will get your special attention in the near future?
JMR: Road security programs, motorcycle friendly crash barriers and the Insurance Mutuality will take up most of our time the first few years.
RB: When did your organisation join FEMA and what was the main reason to do so?
JMR: We joined FEMA as an observer in 2005, and in 2007 we have become a full member. Our principal slogan is “union gives power”. This is what we also advocate in Spain, to promote unity among bikers so we can get more and more power to fight against the government, insurance companies and so on. If we think that this principle works in one country, it must also work on an international level. This was the reason for us to join FEMA. We must join forces to get the European Institutions moving for our rights and force our national governments to do so also.
RB: What role does FEMA play in your current or future activities?
JMR: FEMA is an important tool to get access to the European Institutions and to create unity among all European bikers. In doing so we can get bigger and stronger and a create a real lobby in Europe and on a national level.
RB: Do you have some good advice for your fellow FEMA-member organisations?
JMR: As an organization the AMM is just a beginner. We were founded in 2002, so the Spanish are just newbies in this world of motorcyclists associations. I don’t really think we are qualified to advice organisations with the experience, tradition and prestige of FEMA members.
RB: Travelling advice wanted: why should we all visit your country next summer?
JMR: Well, this is an easy question. And the answers are many, but I will give you only three.
First of all, because Spain is one of the nicest countries of the world, we are the second country in the world when it comes to numbers of tourist, just after the USA, and this is not by chance.
The second reason is that you will have sun all time, so you will be able to enjoy your bike rides without getting wet.
And the last one: Spanish people are very fond of bikes. There are 4.5 million bikers in Spain!
And the best, you will have FUN, FUN, FUN, just come and try it, you won’t regret it.
www.mutuamotera.com
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