Politics - read at your peril!

[littleoldman2]

You're confusing motorcycles with forms of transport, as opposed to a leisure activity.

[Jayneflakes]

I have engaged the Green candidate for Weston Super Mud, Dr Richard Lawson over the last few days and have tried to discuss with him the benefits of riding motorcycles and pointing out that limiting the noise of a bike will make little difference when trains, buses, trucks and cars make so much noise already. It is really a bit of a non issues when compared the levels of noise that people living next to busy roads or railway stations have to endure. Dr Lawson is attempting to make a deal with voters, if he tries to reduce the complexity of bike tests, allow us to ride in bus lanes, improve bike parking and reduce vehicle excise duty, we will be grateful and accept a severe restriction to exhaust noise. In this final e-Mail, through the language he uses and with the twisted double speak of a politician he states a concern over after market exhausts and proposes on the spot checks carried out by the Police. Is this then making a loud exhaust a criminal offence that can get you locked up in jail?

Have a read and decide for yourself what it is that he is proposing.

Let's agree on what we agree on so far.

We both want PTW use to be encouraged because they are more fuel efficient than cars, and cause less traffic congestion
We both want PTWs to be as safe as is reasonably possible.
To achieve this, we have to negotiate with the DoT.
I am offering to do this in my capacity as a Parliamentary candidate, which gives me quasi-MP status.
The aim of negotiations with the DoT is to get them to make the following concessions:
Simplify and rationalise the licensing regime (while making sure that safety is maintained or improved)
Reduce or remove the road fund license for PTWs
Improve parking provision for PTWs
Allow PTWs in bus lane
Now my point is that these are 4 concessions that we are seeking from the DoT, which represents (or is supposed to represent) the interests of society at large. We may say that the changes will benefit society (via fuel and congestion savings), but at the same time we are asking for work and expense from the DoT. How can we motivate them?
This is where noise comes in. I have just taken a quick refresher course on noise pollution. I had a lot to do with environmental health noise experts in my time on the Council. I find that noise pollution relates to hypertension, coronary incidents, stress, hearing loss and tinnitus. Road noise is a significant component of noise pollution, and PTWs contribute to total road noise.
Incidentally, I came across an assertion in the literature that there is no methodical or scientific evidence that "loud pipes save lives". Maybe you know of some?
o my proposal is that we should offer to meet the DoT (and DEFRA and the DoH, who should take an interest) and say we are ready to negotiate for the 4 items above, and concede controls on PTW noise. There are standards in place anyway (I guess) but they might be tighter in newer bikes. There would be agreed standardised roadside/lab tests. The law would be enforced on non-standard pipes, which I understand are available in shops.
All of which might be a bit offensive to some of your more libertarian members, but then you can't please everyone...
That is what I am offering. A balanced package.
I really hope you do not see me as rude or arrogant. I am trying to help. I felt a bit bad because I didn't join MAG at Burrington (your lovely membership sec looked really hurt when I didn't join, but believe me I am trying to unjoin a lot of organisations, I get so much stuff from them). I do want to show that my party wants to work to change things in a realistic way.
I could join MAG, and say "Ain't it awful, the nasty Government won't do what you want". Instead I am trying to get some win-win going.

I have also tackled him on his attitude towards GMOs, energy generation, poverty and unemployment. Although he has skipped over most of these questions or answered them vaguely, he has confirmed that he would like to use the unemployed as a labour force to carry out community work. When I asked him why if work needing to be done was it not actually made into a paid piece of employment, he failed to answer the question. So bare that in mind too, this guy is in favour of Work Fair and would like to see it extended to litter picking, gardening, caring for elderly/infirm/disabled people and restoring the towns we live in. To me these all sound like opportunities for real paid employment, rather than schemes to chuck disenfranchised unemployed people into. Having been both an environmental professional and a disability caring professional, I can say that this concerns me greatly.

So with this in mind, I contacted my local Labour candidate and once I had finished roasting him because he and his party have failed to reply to any of my letters for the last three years, I asked him for his views on bike related issues, of which he had not the first clue until he also attended the same MAG meeting as the Green guy. This was his reply.

Motorcycling - this is not a subject I claim great expertise on but recently I went to the Motorcycle Action Group meeting at Burrington. It's clear to me that the current testing regime is far too complicated and seems that someone is making a lot of money out of all these tests. To be honest I'm not aware of Labour policy on this issue, I don't think there is one, but as a local candidate I will speak up for motorcyclists. You seem to be the poor relations of the road, squeezed between the powerful car and cycling lobbies.

That was it. At least he was honest I suppose, although I do not know how honest it was to say that he will speak up for us. It seems that attending the MAG meeting was simply a case of electioneering to gain the votes of a marginalised group.

Anyway, that is enough of my waffle. If I am not careful you will all start to think that I am either a Card Carrying Communist or a Pro Fox Hunting Tory! Oh and before you ask, the reason for my not detailing any of the replies from UKIP, I would be happy to do, once he learns to write in anything other than Crayon or with his own poo!

[timwilky]

Jayne

After market exhaust are already regulated under EEC type approval rules and need to carry the markings to indicate what approval they conform to, as is required for OEM. The construction/use requirements are legally enforceable. It only needs a copper who knows what he is doing.

However, having performed noise measurements according to the manual. It is extremely complex and requires sufficient empty space to ensure there is no reflected noise etc. It requires both static and ride by measurements etc.

I doubt if one minor British wannabe politician could shift the eec on noise standards.

[Jayneflakes]

Originally Posted by timwilky

Jayne

After market exhaust are already regulated under EEC type approval rules and need to carry the markings to indicate what approval they conform to, as is required for OEM. The construction/use requirements are legally enforceable. It only needs a copper who knows what he is doing.

However, having performed noise measurements according to the manual. It is extremely complex and requires sufficient empty space to ensure there is no reflected noise etc. It requires both static and ride by measurements etc.

I doubt if one minor British wannabe politician could shift the eec on noise standards.

Thank you Tim,

I have tried to put this point across to him, but as an elderly gentleman just about to celebrate his 80th Birthday, he is a little set in his ways. Without being too unkind, I have wondered if he is just trying to leave his mark on the world before he leaves us.

Hope your guy gets further with the DoT than we have over the last 7 years. What I'd expect is that he'll get stonewalled, and then find out that the actual rules are controlled by the EU Driving Licence Directive version 3 (which brought the AM/A1/A2/A crap).

What we've been telling MPs and candidates is that the number of motorcyclists in your constituency may well be larger than your majority, so it's worth engaging with us. As a result, we're seeing a lot of the events like the one you attended being organised, and usually with lots of candidates attending (typically all 5 English parties, from the ones I've seen).