MP's called today for a Government study on the possibility of introducing speed limiters on motorbikes. Motorcycle accident rates were "far too high" and it was time for "radical action", a report from the House of Commons Transport Committee added. They also said that it was "unacceptable" that the biggest motorcycles were more polluting than cars, the committee said, and the illegal use of mini motos by adults as well as children was "making life a misery for communities up and down the country".
In a report on the Government's motorcycling strategy, the committee said that motorbike accident rates had been far too high for 10 years. MP's said a case had been made to the committee for limiting the speed of more powerful motorcycles, though some technical issues still needed to be resolved.
The report went on: "We recommend that the Government commission...research on the viability of introducing speed limiters on motorcycles in order to stimulate a sensible debate of the options."
The committee added that the Government had to support the development of cleaner bikes and that the fact that the heavier bikes were more polluting than cars was possibly another argument in favour of "reducing the maximum power and speed that is available on these vehicles".
The report said that until 2001 the market for mini motos and other bikes that come under the heading of Motorcycles for Use on Private Property (MUPP) was small at about 7,000 new bikes a year.
But it was estimated that around 170,000 MUPPs of various kinds were imported into the UK market in 2005 and that there have been at least seven deaths due to mini motos since mid-2004, five of which were children under the age of 15.
The committee said the police had powers to seize and crush mini motos being driven illegally off or on the road and in an anti-social manner.
The report went on: "Where the police have a 'blitz' on these vehicles in an area, it can lead to a reduction in the short-term.
"In the long-term, the results are not as conclusive. We recommend that the Government undertake a review of enforcement against mini motos to gauge whether police blitzes work to reduce anti-social behaviour in the longer term."
The report said that a trial to see if these off-road vehicles ought to be officially registered might help.
The MPs said it was "particularly worrying that parents are purchasing these vehicles for their children without understanding that they can be dangerous". The committee said the Government should consider including mini motos as part of its Think! campaign on road safety.
The committee added that there should be a duty on retailers to sell mini motos responsibly and it was "irresponsible and unacceptable" that some companies had been giving them away in promotions or as free gifts.
The MPs concluded: "If the problem persists, the Government should make the case to the EU Trade Commissioner to restrict the imports of these goods if they are of a particularly low standard, as the (motorcycle) industry appears to think is the case."
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