Stop the increase in motorcycle tax!!!

Did you realise that in the Chancellors recent pre-budget report road tax rates for motorcycles are set to increase this year. Motorcyclists are to be faced with a Vehicle Excise Duty increases of between 4% and 6% - and this at a time when the Consumer Prices Index is only 1.9%! Yet again motorcyclists are targeted, whereas the car industry gets money via the car scrappage scheme.

Help stop this further tax increase on motorcycling by signing up to the petition set up by the British Motorcyclists Federation on the No 10 website asking the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the increases.

The bmf are asking that in this an election year, all motorcyclists should sign-up to show the strength of feeling over motorcyclists and motorcycling being treated unfairly. The petitions says:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop the increases in motorcycle tax proposed for 2010

Given that the motorcycle industry is facing some of its darkest days with sales slumping by around 25-30%, it makes no sense for any government to increase taxes on motorcycle ownership as is proposed in the Pre-Budget Report. We petition the government to support the motorcycle industry as it has the car industry and freeze or lower Vehicle Excise Duty and provide some other stimuli for the industry and not to attack it further by increasing the cost of ownership for law-abiding citizens.

The petition can be found at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/motorcycleved/

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

New motorcycle safety cartoons

Well at last a positive move to improve motorcycle safety using humour as the medium. In a new Europe wide road safety campaign developed by the Association des Constructeurs Europeens de Motorcycles (ACEM) 13 cartoons will be released on a monthly basis to highlight and educate about the everyday risks riders of powered two wheelers (PTWs) face.

The aim of the campaign is to raise riders awareness of the various risks posed by road layouts and traffic sitautions.

Lucky 13 is a motorcyclist and is the main star of the cartoons. Like many others he is on the road every day. He’s also a lucky guy. He doesn’t know that the roadway isn’t always a safe place to ride his motorcycle, yet some how he pulls through every time. Don’t be like him, don’t count on your luck like he does. And learn from his mistakes.

The first cartoon is entitled "How to Avoid Accidents at Junctions" - see cartoon below.


You can download the cartoon for yourself from http://www.acem.eu/cartoon.

Well done the the ACEM, hopefully these cartoons will leading to greater awareness of the risks involved in riding a motorcycle, scooter or moped!

Ride safe.


Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Boris he says "Yes!"

Finally the Mayor of London Boris Johnson has given the go ahead for motorcycles to use bus lanes in London. The BMF reporting on this today have welcomed the move.

Making this announcement today, Mr Johnson said: "I have long been staggered that while motorcyclists can use bus lanes in many other cities and some of our boroughs they were not allowed to use the TfL routes that criss-cross the capital. "One of the ways we can ease congestion is by encouraging more people to get on their bike, whether pedal or powered, and I believe they should be able to share our bus lanes successfully and safely. "

So from From 5th January motorcyclists will be able to share red route bus lanes with buses, cyclists and black taxis on an 18-month trial basis.

Well done Boris at last!!!



Ride safe.


Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Motorbikes in London Bus Lanes thanks to Borris!

The BMF have confirmed that London Mayor Boris Johnson has finally given the go ahead for motorcycles in London bus lanes. He has asked Transport for London to permit motorcycles to use London bus lanes before the end of the year.

So at last after much campaigning common sense has prevailed. London will benefit from less congestion and we motorcyclists will be safer as the statistics proved.

Thanks Boris!


Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

European Commission Motorcycling Survey

This is a plea to motorcycle riders, scooter riders and moped riders within the European Community, if you value the freedom to ride your machine as you do now, free from motorcycle speed limiters and alike then I urge you to make your views heard.

MAG UK have again brought to the fore the threat of bad technology from Europe, whereby an international consortium of new technology designers has been brought together by the European Commission to develop new devices capable of informing, or limiting, motorcyclists control over their bikes.

YES BIG BROTHER CONTROLLING YOUR BIKE AS YOU RIDE!!!!

Tell the European Commission what you think by completing their online survey questionaire before then end of August, visit http://www.saferider-eu.org/your_opinion.html

If you don't register your opinion to stop this happening, the future of motorcycling as we currently enjoy it within the European Community is seriously under threat.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

New Highway Code launched!

MAG highlights the issue of a revised version of the Highway Code, which is the first revision for eight years. The new code highlights many of the dangers motorcyclists face!. Read the full text of MAG's press release on www.inter-bike.co.uk by clicking here.

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

RoSPA - Safer Motorcycling Work

RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) have put out an excellent press release entittled "RoSPA helps employers to promote safer motorcycling" full details of which can be read on www.inter-bike.co.uk, by clicking here.

RoSPA is trying to encourage employers to promote safer motorcycling and are making available free, an excellent online document called "Safer Motorcycling at Work", which can be downloaded from www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/motorcycling_through_work.pdf

This publication is well worth a read by all motorcyclists, it contains loads of motorcycling safety advice, an introducation bymotorcyclist Suzi Perry and some harrowing facts!
E.g.: Powered Two Wheelers account for about 1% of road traffic but about 18% of fatal casualties and 19% of serious injuries

We all need to promote safer motorcycling, so I urge you to read this document and start promoting safer motorcycling through your work place.

YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Speed Ferries ban motorbikes - MORE INFO!

The Visordown forum have a full posting covering this with an official response from Curt Stavis CEO of Speed Ferries.

You can read it at
http://www.visordown.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4666663

It appears us motorcyclist are unprofitable and take too long to load and unload and we've created lots of expensive claims, blah, blah blah!!!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/