ETSC warns that a shifting political climate is beginning to dismantle the very safety leadership the EU once pioneered.

ETSC highlights five critical areas where recent legislative changes or proposals are actively undermining safety:

  • Small electric vehicle safety “freeze” : a promised 10-year halt on new safety requirements for small EV’s, despite 40% of road deaths occurring in the urban environments where these vehicles proliferate.

  • The rise of 60t “megatrucks”: pushing for cross-border movement of massive “gigaliners” that pose extreme risks to infrastructure and vulnerable road users.

  • Standards dilution: the risk of a shift toward mutual recognition of US vehicle standards, threatening to flood EU markets with heavier, less-regulated SUVs and pickups.

  • Younger lorry drivers: revisions to the Driving Licence Directive that lower minimum ages for HGV drivers, despite clear evidence of higher risk profiles for younger operators.

  • Technical inspection gaps: leaving 70% of the motorcycle fleet (mopeds and motorcycles up to 125cc) without mandatory EU-wide annual safety checks.

  • atro_city@fedia.io
    2·
    10 days ago

    Depends on the bike; a 125cc Honda Wave burns 1 gallon of gas per 160 miles, ~60 isn’t uncommon for bigger bikes.

    Depends on the car too. Motorcycles are worse for the environment than hybrid cars.

    Yes, 2 wheeled vehicles are less safe than cars. We can make streets safer for everybody by lowering speed limits and reducing car usage.

    Speed limits exist in Europe. Motorcyclists regularly ignore them.

    That’s not the bike, it’s the muffler.

    “He hit me!”, “He didn’t hit you, the arm hit you”. A distinction without a difference.

    This is the key benefit; by decreasing the area that needs to be dedicated to car RoW and parking, and the overall speed, you make a place more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly.

    You can also get rid of all motorbikes and improve public transport. One motorcycle takes up the space of at least 2 bikes. And one bus can transport many more people in the same area than bikes ever could.

    pretty much necessary for delivery drivers in fully pedestrianized areas

    That’s false. I invite you to visit Denmark (Copenhagen) or the Netherlands. Electrified bikes and cargo bikes can move a lot and can do so safely in areas with bike paths.

    • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyzEnglish
      1·
      10 days ago

      Speed limits exist in Europe. Motorcyclists regularly ignore them.

      Enforce them. Or even better, build roads that encourage people to ride at reasonable speeds. Cobbles are very common in places where they don’t want to ban 2wheelers, but seriously discourage them. Otherwise there’s speedbumps, curves, more narrow roads

      A distinction without a difference.

      Except you literally have to modify a bike to make it louder than it comes with a stock exhaust. People do the same shit with cars.

      You can also get rid of all motorbikes and improve public transport

      You get rid of motorbikes, people continue to drive cars. Bicycles can’t displace cars in car-centric hells the way motorcycles can.

      One motorcycle takes up the space of at least 2 bikes

      lol ride in Hanoi or HCMC some time. You’ll be shocked by how many bikes they can fit on a square meter of road.

      one bus can transport many more people in the same area than bikes ever could.

      Depends on the bus service. For a BRT with a dedicated lane and priority at lights? Absolutely. In a car-centric hell where buses fight cars in traffic? Nah, hundreds of bikes will get down the road before the bus.