Éric rides a motorcycle every day and he ensures “to know well” his machine: he is also a mechanic. According to him, to submit to a compulsory technical inspection, “it won’t help much. I do not see the interest“, he slices. “From a security point of view, I check all the time. The bodywork is ourselves! We just have equipment, we don’t have anything else if we fall, it’s us. While in a car, the person is inside and if it hits, it stays outside“, he pleads, arguing that the bikers are already cautious.
However, the Council of State ruled on Tuesday May 17, 2022: the technical control of two-wheelers over 125cm3 must apply and cannot be postponed beyond October 1, 2022 for the oldest vehicles. This control should, according to a European obligation, apply no later than January 1, 2022, but the government decided last year by decree to postpone this obligation to 2023. It is this decree that the Council of State has suspended.
0.7% of accidents due to a failure
Without compulsory technical control when he is told the news, Paul, who has just parked his scooter in the middle of Paris, begins to breathe. “It’s going to be an additional cost, and I’m against it. I don’t think two-wheelers are going to do this review and stuff like that. Many do it basic because it’s more dangerous than a car. I have also seen a statistic on this on the French Federation of Angry Bikers which said, it seems to me that 0.7% of accidents due to a failure.” This figure is indeed at the heart of the new campaign of the FFMC, based on the MAIDS report (Motorcycle Accident In Depth Study) on accidents motorized two-wheelers in five European countries.
>> Technical control of two-wheelers: “It’s a victory for public health and for ecology”, according to the director of the Respire association
Bruno drives on a 900cc: he is not totally opposed to this control, but remains very perplexed. “The fact that the motorcycle comes out of a technical control does not mean that there will be fewer accidents. I don’t see the direct connection. Their owners are already very careful: old motorcycles are expensive to maintain, expensive to keep. I don’t see why these people would ignore security on the pretext that there is no technical control for the moment”, he insists. Before emphasizing prevention:Let’s work more on airbags for bikers! Let’s work on the security systems! I have a helmet with a light system. There are other ways to create the right safety conditions for motorcyclists.“
“I can see the safety side for old vehicles, but in the motorcycle fleet in France today, are there really as many old motorcycles as that?”
But this control could also be a “crutch“Useful for those who are just starting out, says Hugo, taking his big bike out of the garage.”Clearly, I think I think that’s a good thing. We are vulnerable on a motorcycle. I’ve been riding in ‘big cubes’ for two years, I don’t put my hands in it, I have very limited knowledge of mechanics. When I bought it used, although it was recent, I wasn’t sure that I didn’t know what to check or check… I don’t think it’s crazy to check. It’s necessary“, he admits.
There are still several questions still unanswered: what are the criteria that will be part of the control, how much will it cost? The Federation of Angry Bikers wants to challenge the decision of the Council of State in court.