MAG Ireland has received the following information from F.E.M.A., the The Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations. If you’re interested in taking part, the deadline for registration is 26th September. As the event is in Cologne, Germany, it’ll likely be of most interest to those of you who regularly tune in from mainland Europe.
Dear Motorcyclists from Europe and around the world,
The 2nd European Motorcyclists’ Forum is at the door. It will take place in Cologne, Germany on October 3rd and will bring together motorcycle experts, policy-makers and users to discuss the future of powered two-wheel mobility.
This year’s Forum will focus on motorcycle safety because the topic is high on all political agenda. It is about time that we discuss our safety the right way.
Three keynote speakers have been invited and will present their national motorcycle safety approach:
· Claes Tingvall, Swedish Director of Road Safety and father of the Vision Zero concept, will present his experience working with motorcyclists;
· Robbert Verweij, Senior Policy Adviser at the Dutch Ministry of Transport, will explain how the Netherlands have set up an Motorcycling Action Plan involving motorcycle safety stakeholders;
· Liz de Rome, Senior Researcher at Neuroscience Research Australia, will present the latest key outcomes of motorcycle safety research in Australia, with a special focus on training, infrastructure, and human behavior.
Two ongoing motorcycle safety projects will be presented:
· RIDERSCAN, an EU co-funded project aiming at gathering best practices in motorcycle safety, around Europe and in 8 safety areas;
· SIM2CO+, a French project aiming at designing new training modules for hazard perception skills of motorcycle riding, including simulation. The content of the training modules comes from the results of a complete literature review on novice riders, and a naturalistic study of novice and learner riders.
These 2 projects will definitely influence motorcycle safety research and policies for the next decades.
Finally, two focused discussions will address 2 critical aspects of motorcycle safety:
· “Training and licensing – The right approach”, moderated by John Chatterton-Ross from the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), featuring the following panelists:
Casto Lopez Benitez (European Commission/Road Safety Unit)
Claes Tingvall (Ministry of Transport – Sweden)
Karsten Nikolaisen (Ministry of Transport – Norway)
Jesper Christensen – (Motorcycle Users- Sweden)
Stéphane Espié (Motorcycling Research – France)
Liz de Rome (Motorcycling Research -Australia)
Michael Pfeiffer (Motorcycling Media – Germany)
· “Improved infrastructure standards: a tool for local road safety”, moderated by Claes Tingvall featuring the following panelists:
Tapani Mikkeli (European Commission/Construction Unit)
European Standardization Centre (tbc)
Robbert Verweij (Ministry of Transport – The Netherlands)
Kris Redant (Road Research Center – Belgium)
Liz de Rome (Motorcycle Research – Australia)
Eric Thiollier (Motorcycle Users – France)
Magnus Klys (Motorcycle Media – Sweden)
During the event, FEMA will take the opportunity to introduce several initiatives:
· a new training and licensing approach to improve the safety of novice riders;
· a European-wide survey of motorcyclists, which will allow the mapping of motorcyclists’ characteristics per country, including their safety habits;
· a Website for local road authorities aiming at providing an overview of existing motorcycle roadside protection systems;
· the Roadside Barrier Guidelines, providing a detailed insight to the roadside barriers issue, including standardization and good practices.
After the successful first edition of the Forum in 2010, this second Forum has been moved to Cologne in an attempt to broaden the audience. The event is organized with the support of the German Institute for Motorcycle Safety and held immediately after the IfZ Conference, and during the INTERMOT Show, Europe’s largest motorcycle, scooter and bicycle fair. We sincerely hope that the programme will pique your interest, and that you will be able to join us.
All information about this high-level motorcycling event can be found on www.
Dear Motorcyclist Friend, please note:
· as a participant to the Forum, you will receive a complimentary pass to the INTERMOT show;
· if you cannot participate but would like to support the event, we would be grateful if you could disseminate the information through your communication channels.
Looking forward to meeting you in Cologne, I remain at your disposal for any further information you may need,
Kind regards,
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Aline Delhaye
FEMA General Secretary
RIDERSCAN Project Coordinator