[REPORT]
3rd Driving Licence Directive Workshop
Experts from 12 countries discussed mobility opportunities and safety initiatives for PTWs in the context of the transposition of the third driving licence directive
On 6th May ACEM, supported by its partners CIECA, FEMA and FIM, hosted a workshop in Brussels on the transposition of the third driving licence directive (2006/126/EC). Licensing plays an important role in achieving the goals of the European internal market, improving mobility and road safety. The contribution of Powered Two-Wheelers (PTW) to mobility, sustainable urban development and to the EU society as a whole could be much greater on the condition that EU Member States consider the creation of a favourable environment for PTW mobility and safety improvement as one of the main priorities in their national transport policy.
Experts from 12 countries gathered to discuss and explore PTW mobility opportunities and safety initiatives, sharing views and questions raised in the context of the transposition of the third driving licence directive. Following an opening presentation by the European Commission and an overview by CIECA of the Member States’ intentions for the transposition of the motorcycling provisions in the third driving licence directive, representatives from Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany shared their current initiatives, future intentions and questions in view of meeting the 19th January 2011 - deadline for transposing the text of the directive.
This forum highlighted a great disparity in the country progress towards the integration and implementation of the directive, which contains new provisions governing the access to the different categories of Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) and giving a wide range of options to MS. Some MS support training for PTW riders moving from one category of vehicle to another, whilst others are in favour of testing mainly for historical reasons or due to the lack of appropriate training facilities and adequate number of highly qualified trainers.
Mr Gilles Bergot, Deputy Head of the Road Safety Unit of DG MOVE, participated to the discussions inviting stakeholders to inform the European Commission about any major concern and difficulty in view of the transposition of the directive.
Some issues related to the directive were raised, such as minimum test vehicle requirements, progressive access and the premature adoption by some Member States. The EC and MS agreed that these issues need to be tackled and will seek to find solutions for these and other open questions.
Part of the workshop included a live demonstration of the awarded manoeuvres of the Bikesafety Competition. Launched in 2009, the Bike safety Competition aimed at selecting the best rider training exercises currently available. PTW trainers were invited to submit their favourite rider training exercises, focusing on one or more of the top 10 accident causes for PTWs. The author of the winning excercise, Mr Wolfgang Stern from Avp-Institut für angewandte Verkehrspädagogik, was awarded a Suzuki scooter.
The fact that this event attracted a multitude of stakeholders has proved once more the necessity of a very strong collaboration among all interested stakeholders at national and local level in view of the transposition of the third driving licence directive.
Links:
[INDEX]
EUROPEAN COUNCIL SUPPORTS PTWs
VIDEO: AUTOMATIC HEADLIGHTS ON SUBMISSION TO EC