Bicycle helmet laws resisted A Bill has been laid in the Northern Ireland Assembly by Pat Ramsey, a member of the Legislative Assembly, that intends to make cycle helmet use compulsory for both adults and children and enforceable by a £50 fine. The Cycle Touring Club (CTC), together with Sustrans Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Cycling Forum, will be fiercely resisting the Bill, which they believe would have a damaging impact on levels of cycling in the province.
No cyclists were killed there last year, yet
9,611 people died from diseases such as cancer and diabetes that more physical activity can help prevent according to the CTC.
Date set for IOM healthcare deal In the wake of protest from MAG and other parties, a plan that threatened to end reciprocal health care between the Isle of Man and mainland UK has been dropped. A new reciprocal healthcare agreement will come into effect from October 1st 2011. The new agreement will put the current temporary arrangements on a permanent footing, meaning that UK residents visiting the Isle of Man will receive free, state provided healthcare, as will Isle of Man residents visiting the UK.
Biker pound recognised Wales
An Aberystwyth university lecturer has been awarded a grant to explore motorcycle tourism in Ceredigion, Wales. Dr Carl Cater, a lecturer in tourism qualifications has been awarded the first Tourism Society Wales Professional Development Award. As part of his work Dr Cater will be looking into setting up a bikers welcome programme in Wales. Estimates indicate that motorcycle tourism is worth around £570m to the UK economy, with Wales currently reaping about £38m of that, a proportion that the Welsh authorities sound keen to increase.
Dr Cater said that he “hoped to learn more about the biker culture.” John Walsh-Heron Chairman of The Tourism Society in Wales observed: “There is quite a lot of money in
Scotland
New helmet concept wins award A new concept for a motorcycle helmet has earned Bournemouth University (BU) graduate Jack Hooker a £2,000 prize from Santander Universities after winning the 2010 Santander Design Grand Slam.
The novel concept provides quick and safe helmet removal following an accident, by removing side clips which unlock the interior and allowing it to slide apart. This feature, says Jack, makes removing the helmet much simpler and could save vital seconds without compromising the safety features of the helmet itself.
More parity with motorists In the House of Lords, Earl Atlee has tabled a motion that will see the fine incurred for having illegally low tread on a motorcycle tyre, reduced from the current £120 to £60 to bring it into line with the fines for car drivers.
The move is one part of the Road Safety Fixed Penalty (amendment) Order 2010, that recognises the fact that motorcyclists often feel they do not receive fair treatment before the law. In this instance it is indeed the case that the fine for riders is twice that for drivers, so the perception of victimisation is not an illusion. This road safety order in its entirety aims to address the problem of non-payment of fines for offences by non-nationals or others the Police suspect may avoid payment. MAG is happy that the Government is taking this opportunity to amend previous unfairness. Under the same order, the fine for an obscured, ill-sized or missing number plate, is to go up from £30 to £60.
6 The ROAD
Motorcycle Scotland, the Scottish biker tourism group, has been awarded top honours at a prestigious rural development awards ceremony in southern Scotland. Winning the ‘Wealthier and Fairer’ category in the Rural Awards, organised by the Dumfries & Galloway LEADER Programme, the award recognises projects that have contributed towards the development of a diverse and dynamic business base. Motorcycle Scotland was praised for seizing an opportunity and making the most of it, having fought off stiff competition to win special recognition from the judges. Dave Smith of the Buccleuch Arms Hotel, Chair of Motorcycle Scotland and a keen biker himself, said: “We were obviously thrilled to win this award, but more than that we are delighted that bikers and biking is now being recognised as making a major contribution to Scotland’s rural economy. “When we started Motorcycle Scotland, we did so with the knowledge that we have some of the finest biking roads and landscapes in the UK right here in southern Scotland. Our aim is to show off our hidden gem routes to bikers and put
motorcycling and we would like to see how best we can attract motorcyclists to the area and how we can cater for them.”
our area on the map. By valuing bikers and welcoming them to our area, tourism and hospitality businesses are seeing a noticeable boost to their businesses.”
Launched in 2008,
motorcyclescotland.com highlights the very best motorcycle routes across the south of Scotland. The 13 routes are designed by bikers for bikers, offering wide open spaces, amazing scenery including lochs, mountains, coast and castles and they take place on low- traffic roads.
www.motorcyclescotland.com
More transparency on cameras promised
By April 2011 the Government wants information about cameras to be easily available to the public.
This could include data about accident rates at camera sites, vehicle speeds and the numbers of motorists prosecuted or offered training after committing offences recorded by cameras. Roads Minister Mike Penning said: "Public bodies should be accountable and if taxpayers’ money is being spent on speed cameras, then it is right that information about their effectiveness is available to the public. "The proposals I have announced will help show what impact cameras are having on accident and casualty rates and also how the
police are dealing with offenders. "This is in line with our commitment to improve transparency of government data so that the public are able to make more informed judgements about the work of local and central government."
The Department will be working with police and local authority representatives, as well as the Highways Agency, to discuss the details of what should be published and how. The final requirements will then be confirmed in time for publication in April 2011.
The change appears to reflect a broad policy of ending what the Prime Minister has described as ‘the war on the motorist.’
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