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11th September 2007
While in agreement with the overall objective of improving road safety, as a citizens’ organization, FEMA has concerns about the approach often taken by public authorities both in general terms and more specifically regarding motorcycle safety.
Indeed, achieving the target of reducing the number of fatalities by half in Europe by 2010 has become a quasi corporate target for the European Union and its Member States.
Reaching set targets within a specific time constraint is unquestionably important, but the measures to be implemented need to be carefully assessed and should not have a negative impact on any road user.
Improving road safety is a common objective and FEMA firmly believes that every life, whether a car driver, a motorcyclist, a cyclist or a pedestrian, is worth the same.
Saving lives of one category of road users at the cost of raising the risk, and therefore the number of fatalities of another, is simply ethically unacceptable for FEMA members.
FEMA and its members are therefore working to ensure a holistic approach to road safety, taking into account all road users.
Road safety is an important issue for all motorcyclists. Contrary to some organisations and institutions that keep a high profile in the motorcycle safety debate, FEMA has no "hidden commercial agenda".
The motorcycling community has extensive, experience based knowledge of why accidents happen. The motorcyclists and their organisations are in many ways the "real experts".
With its European Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (EAMS), FEMA intends to contribute to the road safety debate, providing stakeholders with the motorcyclists’ expertise and real needs.
The document emphasizes that motorcycles and motorcyclists have different characteristics from other vehicles and their drivers and identifies the specific needs of motorcyclists that must be addressed along with those of other road users.
The EAMS is aimed at providing legislators, decision makers, and all stakeholders dealing with motorcycle safety, with a brief summary of why motorcycle accidents happen from a rider’s perspective and recommendations on how to improve motorcycle safety in some selected areas of particular concern.
Kees Meijer
FEMA President (2003-2008)
FEMA - Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations
Rue des Champs 62
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 736 9047
Fax: +32 (0)2 736 9401
Download the pdf Here 4mb
Website: www.fema.ridersrights.org
Aline Delhaye - General Secretary general.secretary@fema-online.eu
Virginie Peters - Campaigns Officer campaigns@fema-online.eu
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