The European Parliament voted Tuesday (2 July) to extend vehicle safety checks to motorcycles, reversing a parliamentary committee’s effort to exempt two-wheeled vehicles from inspections.
The new rules will gradually require regular inspections of motorbikes along with trailers used for hauling that weigh more than 750 kilogrammes.
European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, who introduced package of roadworthiness and inspection measures a year ago, welcomed the decision to include motorbikes as a step towards reducing highway deaths in the EU.
“I am glad that the European Parliament takes the view that motorcycles need to undergo technical checks,” Kallas, who is in charge of transport, said in a statement. “Technical inspections of motorcycles will be a step forward to reach our road safety target to halve the number of road fatalities by 2020 and towards vision zero."
