LIGHTS LAW
MOTORCYCLE ACTION GROUP PRESS RELEASE
17th August 2001
Motorcycle Lights law turned on!
As reported on 31st July in 'Bright isn't Always Right' a deal has been struck between the
unelected European Commission and the European motor manufacturers, which will lead to all cars produced for the European market being delivered with their lights hard wired, i.e. permanently on.
Following suit, as expected, the
Motorcycle Manufacturers Association have decided that they too will produce all their new models from June 2003 with hard wired lights.
MAG is against compulsory daytime headlights for well documented
reasons: because they can be
irritating; are a constant source of distraction; don't work in many circumstances; mask other traffic signals; mask vulnerable road users; reduce the ability to judge speed and distance; and can generate a false sense of security.
Even
if you think daytime lights are a good thing for motorcycles this should still be of concern because with all cars illuminated, bikes will have lost any edge they may currently enjoy.
The background to this, we believe, is that the
Commission wanted all car manufacturers to build their cars with soft pedestrian-friendly fronts. The manufacturers realised this would be expensive so they came up with the idea that they would hard wire their cars, which of course costs them
nothing, or next to nothing, and then pretend they are doing it for safety reasons on the basis that pedestrians are less likely to wander out in front of them if they have their lights on.
Remember, no legislation has been passed here,
this is simply an Agreement between manufacturers and the European Commission. So a dubious road safety initiative will effectively be enacted without any examination of its merits by a democratically elected body like the European Parliament.
To this day there is no evidence to prove that Daytime headlight laws work. The effectiveness of this measure was assessed in Israel by having periods when lights on applied and periods when it did not. The statistics conclude that it
didn't make any difference.
What does seem more certain, however, is that this will increase fuel consumption by increasing the loads on alternators, so there is a green issue at stake here. How much headlights will increase fuel
consumption is uncertain, although estimates vary between 0.5% and 2%.
The frightening part of all this is that the normal democratic channels are being bypassed in the name of globalisation of standards. Some may even accuse industry
of secret deals, but in the knowledge that production costs will be reduced and profits increased, by the creation of a single world market, MAG would certainly not be that sceptical!
Further information Phil Neale
Tel 0870 444 8 448
Mob. 07802 356040
http://www.mag-uk.org
Festival of Light Threatens Motorcyclists' Safety
The threat of daytime headlight use by all vehicles, as proposed by the European Commission, has prompted The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG)
to send a two man delegation to Brussels to begin immediate and intensive lobbying of MEPs.
Phil Neale, MAG Director of Public Affairs, and Henry Marks, MAG Chief Executive have sailed tonight (Sunday Sep 9) for The Continent to begin
emergency lobbying in the morning.
MAG see in this headlight proposal, a clear link to the expected directive on 'pedestrian-friendly' car fronts. it seems that the motor manufacturers have brokered a deal with the Commission to let
them replace that expensive option with the cheap though unproven tactic of 'hard wiring' the lights to provide more warning to pedestrians. MAG fear that such a move would leave motorcycles and other vulnerable road users masked by a sea of
daytime headlights.
MAG's Phil Neale
'It is estimated that safer car fronts would save around 2,000 lives and 18,000 serious injuries annually on EU roads. Despite a scientifically established research and development programme to
introduce this new technology in stages, the Commission would appear to be hell-bent on ignoring it!
Most research projects on daytime headlight use for motorcycles have failed to prove their effectiveness. What we fear is that lighting
up all vehicles will have negative safety implications for motorcyclists.'
MAG's Henry Marks
'As European consumers, bikers will demand that this process is transparent, fair, and open for debate'.
Further information: Ian Mutch 0208 556 6495 [email protected]--
[email protected]
MP/MEP CONTACT DETAILS @ http://www.go-em.gov/region/mps.htm
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