europe meddling again
 

just heard the european parliament are i know ive pasted it but all modifications are going to be illegal and flourescent jackets compulsery
real European issues that we stillneed to draw attention to are:

The Anti tampering Regulation: Specifically Article 18which wants to stop all modifications to complete power train, from airbox tocontrolling the rear tyre profile.
Compulsory ABS. If we can't stop this, we must get aswitch so that we have an option in difficult conditions where ABS doesn'tfunction well.
Automatic headlights on- passing the blame for poorobservation on to us.
OBD. On Board Diagnostics so that easy roadside checkscan be made of our emissions and so that constant readouts of engineperformance can be obtained. Expensive, complicated and with the threat, ratherlike a tacho, of identifying past riding style...
RMI. Repair and Maintenance Information. Rather thankeeping it hidden and available for huge expense, there is a chance thatmanufacturers will be forced to provide ECU codes etc for a fee. What that feeis remains to be seen.
The very worrying article 52: "If systems,components or seperate technical units on a list in a delegated act to thisregulation, have a dual use, for vehicles intended exclusively for racing onroads and for vehicles intended for use on public roads, they may not be soldor offered for sale to consumers" So if your K&N filter can fit a CBRrace bike and a CBR road bike, the best way to police that, is to make itillegal to sell the filter in Europe.The Delegated Acts are the most scarything, as they are the lists and details drawn up by the unelected and we won'tget to see what they are including until after the Regulation has been passed!
In solidarity with the French we need to be drawingattention to their recent government proposal to ban all bikes over 7 years oldfrom an urban area and to make the wearing of day-glo/ reflective clothingcompulsory.
Full sleeve day-glo clothing for riders and passengershas been proposed in the Irish Parliament too.
All these issues lead to the same thing, that we musttake the blame for the incompetence of other road users. And while the emergencystop has been removed as a compulsory element of the UK car driving test, weare jumping through hoops with ill-judged UK interpretations of EU licencingdirectives.
Another EU licencing Directive is on its way (3DLD) tostep the bike licencing system still further and the DfT and DSA still haven't sorted the consultation process, even though it is meant to be in law by nowand enacted January 2013.

Re: europe meddling again
 

I can see the face of the Virgin Mary in that pretty pattern.

Re: europe meddling again
 

Mostly bs ... but I do agree with compulsory day-time running ligts.

Re: europe meddling again
 

I believe DRLs are now compulsory on all new cars.

As for mods etc, its been discussed to death, this article holds nothing I haven;t heard before so either you have picked up old news or someones just re-iterating stuff.

Re: europe meddling again
 

I like ABS, would prefer to have a car with it.

Auto headlights are good as well.

What is wrong with hi-viz clothing on bikes? It cant be a bad idea if it makes bikes more visible.
I am not really a fan of bikes, to be fair bikes are ok its the vast number of idiots who ride them.
I think full bike leathers and boots should have to be worn that meet some testing regulation.

Re: europe meddling again
 

Please, at least get your space key on your computer sorted

Re: europe meddling again
 

ABS is in general a good idea but having actually "tupped" someone who did an emergency to let a cat across teh road all due to teh ABS kicking in and decreasing teh very braking efficiency I had its not a be all and end all, equally on snow, sometimes its better(quicker) to lock up and build up a snow dam in front of the tyre than to let the ABS try and work miracles with sod all grip available.

Auto headlights - NOOOOOOOO, all these people who drive arouind on bright foggy days with no lights on because they have no idea teh auto lights hasn't turned them on..... for goodness sake, its a switch, its not rocket science to remember to turn them on. I'm really worried that we are breeding a set of people who have no idea of what it actually takes to drive, by dumbing down you increase risk....

whats the point in forcing hi vis jackets, in > 90% of cases you dont see the riders chest due to then being behind a fairing/they are crouched over in the usual sports bike position etc. the thing is ~ 5 foot by 3 foot wide. If you can't see that I'd question if you can read a 3" letter at 67 feet....

good quality leathers etc? yep, I'm with you on that one. I cringe when I see people riding in shorts/T shirts etc...

Re: europe meddling again
 

Whatever the pros and cons of these regulations, surely the most important point of all is that our laws should be implemented by OUR Paliament in Westminister and NOT by a remote, undemocratic body in Brussels/Strausbourg!

Re: europe meddling again
 

I tend to agree with most of what you say ... there is really no substitute for knowing how to drive (ride, too) ... there seems to be a trend towards making cars idiot proof (cars that park themselves for chrissake:rolleyes:), but it's impossible .... try to make a vehicle idiot proof and god just creates a better idiot.

Oh, and loud pipes save lives:alright:

Re: europe meddling again
 

hang on we are already responsible for other peoples awareness on the road

before i passed my test i firmly believed that a driver should be aware of not only what other cars were up to but also pedestrians.

since passing my test and experiencing knob heads jumping out in front of cars trying to scare drivers for fun i have somewhat adjusted that belief .

If a moron jumps out infront of you while you are driving trying to scare you although the police would probably not do you for reckless driving the moron could still claim off your insurance as the laws of the road so to speak state that you are at fault .

Re: europe meddling again
 

the most common fault with all models of car is the loose nut behind the steering wheel :D;)

Re: europe meddling again
 

And here's me thinking that was a Canadian saying:) I've been driving and riding for over 45 years, and my experience leads me to agree with you. But I do remember being clocked by the RCMP on the TransCanada, between Webb and Medicine Hat doing 143 mph. ... in a '69 Dodge Charger, 383 magnum (383 block with 440 heads), six pack, headers, Hurst shift :alright: And if I hadn't run out of gas, the horsemen would never have caught me.:mad: I don't know if it's worth a thread, but it amazes me how we survive youth.;)

Re: europe meddling again
 

i know i meant to but when i was landing the helicopter i was a bit distracted:D

Re: europe meddling again
 

Didn't know Dinky made a helicopter:rolleyes:

Re: europe meddling again
 

Just a few of them below:-

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...fqmSn235pNiAQQhttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...WgPeZ4UNiwq6jghttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...NjvPRrnYq0EUsAhttp://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...2A7Gj-DHp5wGBQ