Sticky business


Many members have been asking if they will have to fit stickers to their crash helmets when visiting France. Some confusion has surrounded this threat so the ROAD has checked with French rider group Fédération Française des Motards en Colère (FFMC). This is their latest take on the issue.


In early January of this year, we advised all our readers that the current French Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, had decided to scrap his predecessor’s ludicrous proposals for all motorcyclists to wear any form of reflective clothing.


Unfortunately, there remains another stupid piece of legislation forcing all bikers in France, whether residents or visitors, to wear a helmet with reflective stickers on, and this one has not been scrapped. Bikers caught wearing a helmet without stickers face a 135 euros fine payable on the spot as well as having points taken off their licence. (In France points are subtracted for offences from a starting point).


The police have recently been enforcing this rule quite severely in Paris and other locations throughout France.


All helmets must have four reflective stickers: one on the front, one at the rear and one on each side. The surface of each sticker


must be 18 cm2 and, within each sticker, you must be able to draw a 40 mm diameter circle, or a 12.5 cm2 rectangle at least 20mm in length.


Helmets with stickers When you buy a new helmet in France, compliant stickers usually come with it, however, it is your responsibility to correctly stick them on your helmet. The stickers should not be removable without damaging the helmet and must remain reflective over time. They must also be water resistant and not interfere with the opening and closing mechanism of the helmet (if applicable). If you live outside France and intend to visit France on motorised two or three wheels, you must by law enter France with compliant reflective stickers on your helmet. If a nasty policeman in a bad mood spots you with no compliant stickers on your helmet, you may have a hard time.


As far as we know, France is the only country in the world that


requires reflective stickers on helmets. We all know very well that the current French


president, François Hollande, has no interest in this issue other than as a stealth tax to address the huge public deficit, so this piece of legislation, which has been in place for some time, is unlikely to be scrapped. NB Thousands of French citizens have relocated outside France to dodge the heavy taxes and London is now the sixth largest ‘French city.’ This piece of legislation to


force all bikers to have reflective stickers on their helmet, which could have been scrapped considering its stupidity, is a typical example of the current French government’s practice to grab any centime they possibly can by deliberately introducing ridiculous laws which the vast majority of residents and visitors would find useless and ignore. Motorcyclists are already obliged to ride with their lights switched on in bright daylight. Reflective stickers are not


The French biker group FFMC employ vigorous campaign tactics and imagery.The ROAD apologies to any readers offended by this graphic image but we feel it conveys ‘je ne sais quoi’


reflective during daylight, a feature which detracts further from the logic of this law. It is time that the French government starts to treat motorcyclists like responsible adults and not like children.


Road Comment: MAG takes this issue very seriously. Many British bikers like to ride in France and we recognise that anti motorcycle legislation is a disease that easily crosses borders.


MAG is encouraging all riders to contact the French Embassy in London and the French Tourist Board to let them know what we think of this madness. Google them now.


The government and the compensation culture Paul Mulderrigs of Mulderrigs Solicitors look at the recent changes to the law on compensation claims


You may have read in the press about changes to the rules about compensation claims in 2013.


Thereʼs no doubt that the last few years has seen a number of high profile ‘crash for cash’ scams, with one chap being locked up for staging over 100 accidents. We have also seen the rapid growth of ‘claims management’ companies, who contact accident victims by whatever means they can and then sell the details to solicitors who are stupid enough to buy them. At Mulderrigs we are proud that we have never paid a penny in ‘referral fees.’ So, this year the government has decided


to clamp down hard on the so-called compensation culture, with a ban on referral fees, massive cuts in the amount that lawyers get paid for handling claims, and a change to the ‘no win no fee’ system, so that accident victims no longer get to keep 100% of their compensation. Well, thatʼs all fine as far as it goes but we know from long experience that most of our clients are the innocent victims of someone elseʼs stupidity.


This attack on the rights of accident victims is ill-considered and just plain wrong. The only winners will be the insurance industry and the government


themselves, who will save millions that they should quite properly pay out to badly injured public servants – policemen, nurses, firemen and the like. Often our clients have suffered very unpleasant injuries and serious financial losses and we have always been proud of being there to help solve their problems. Despite these ridiculous changes, our pledge at Mulderrigs is to continue to be there for our clients and to help them get the compensation they properly deserve when disaster strikes as a result of someone elseʼs negligence.


Paul Mulderrig The ROAD 49


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