With only a few days to go to the General Election and MCI calls on motorcyclists to support the Riders are Voters campaign, which is online at www.ridersarevoters.org., to ensure that motorcycling voices are heard by Parliamentary Candidates. This is so that Government policy can be improved for the 1.5 million active riders in the UK and that more people can choose to take up biking and enjoy the Co2 and congestion-busting benefits.

“DSA Mismanagement of Motorcycle Training and Testing Needs to Stop” say industry and Riders Are Voters.

The Motorcycle Industry (MCI) and Riders Are Voters (RAV) are again calling for action on the Driving Standard’s Agency (DSA) mismanagement of the 2nd European Licensing directive, which has seen a vast reduction in test centres, training schools going out of business and over 50% less candidates than before the new regime was introduced.

This has a knock on effect on the motorcycle industry as a whole in the UK, which is a £7billion industry,which directly employs 65,500 people in more than 6,350 businesses.
This is actually more than each of the following: UK call centres; the market research sector; taxi driving; and libraries, museums and other cultural activities.

MCI and RAV are saying a proper partnership between the motorcycle community and the Government on the management of testing and licensing policy is essential, making industry, trainers and riders groups a full part of the policy making process, rather than simply ignoring them in stage managed consultation meetings.

In addition, new Ministers will need to take a far more active involvement in motorcycle licensing matters, especially with the imminent implementation of the Third European Licencing Directive which MCI says is likely to be as bungled as the last and as such they have lodged a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

The motorcycling world’s frustration with the DSA focuses around a litany of serious issues in relation to the Agency’s management of testing and training. These include:

• The Parliamentary Transport Select Committee said that the introduction of 2DLD had been bungled and £millions of public money wasted
• Test candidates are facing difficulties in getting a motorcycle test due to the reduced number of test centres. (down from over 200 to just 45 sites for the ‘module one’ test)
• There has been a fall in candidate numbers (over 60%), suggesting that a ‘permanent learner’ situation is arising
• The financial cost of the over complexity of the DSA interpretation of simple EU regulations
• A consultation on further European licensing regulations (3DLD) was complicated and even DSA’s officials did not understand what they had written.
• The DSA’s refusal to include the option for progressive licence upgrades in the 3DLD, so that as training standards and quality assurance regimes improve, a training, rather than testing, option could be implemented more easily
• The Enhanced Rider Scheme, has a low rider take-up. The DSA do not even have a method of recording how many riders have taken and passed the scheme.
• The DSA’s recently proposed National Riding Standard includes bizarre and unnecessary provisions for carrying pets and towing trailers.

Steve Kenward, MCI’s CEO said; “The seemingly unresolved issues of accessing and booking tests, is still causing massive problems for trainers and is ultimately reducing the number of riders coming forward for tests. This is further damaging for the motorcycle industry and adding cost and inconvenience for riders and trainers. Parliament agreed and we now expect the DSA to sort the problems out.

“To add insult to injury, we are now faced with the implementation of the Third European Driving Licence Directive. We have reason to believe that once again the DSA is ready to create similar complications, problems and costs to consumers.