Motorbike campaigners have organised a day of action to fight interfering and patronising EU regulations.
The Motorbike Action Group (MAG) said a raft of issues emanating from Europe will have a profound effect on riders and the motorcycle industry generally.
And to fight the proposals, bikers from across the country will take part in the day of action on Sunday, September 25, including protesting at venues in the East Midlands.
UKIP East Midlands MEP Derek Clark has joined Party leader Nigel Farage and UKIP activists nationwide in fighting the latest EU meddling.
He said: "The EU is yet again meddling in things and bringing in laws it just doesn’t need to.
"Its policies are hostile to the car user and now hostile to motorbike riders too – talk about the nanny state!
"Most bikers look after their machines better than car owners, not least because they do a lot of the work themselves and that means the great majority of bikes more than seven-years-old will have been well maintained, lovingly so in many cases.
"Bikers are proud of their machines and those with an older machine will take great care of them.
"These proposed regulations will do nothing to help road safety, they will only serve to alienate a section of the community.
"The proposals are typical EU proposals – chip away, chip away, in small stages and demonise the motorbike rider. It’s bonkers and typical EU.
"We in UKIP will fight each proposal – if it’s not broken, don’t fix it."
The latest EU proposals include:
• Possible roadside checks by police or other government agencies to inspect emissions, detect owner 'tuning' and more.
• Ireland plans compulsory, full sleeve day-glo jackets for riders and pillions, France is debating compulsory reflective/day-glo clothing. Will UK insurance companies start saying that because bikers weren't dressed in day-glo it is their own fault an inattentive driver drove into them?
• EU-funded development of electronics to control and govern speeds through warning systems or, ultimately, actual throttle control.
• France also wants to ban bikes more than seven old from urban areas for environmental reasons - their congestion is already terrible and putting more riders into cars that pollute terribly when they are stationary.
The campaign on September 25 will start from service areas across the country, including those in the East Midlands at:
• M1 England
Northampton Services north and southbound
Leicester Forrest East Services southbound
Donington Park Services
Trowell Services northbound
Tibshelf Services northbound
• A14
Thrapston Services
Brampton Hut A1/A14.
For further details visit MAG at http://www.mag-uk.org/en/campaignsdetail/a6883 or contact Paddy Tyson on 01926 844064.
