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EU regulation on technical inspection for motorbikes

The EU decided on uniform regulations for the technical testing of motorbikes to ensure road safety. However, France, Denmark and Finland have opposed the implementation of the directive.

France
Once a motorbike has been registered in France, it does not need any further technical inspections - regardless of its cubic capacity or power. After the decision of the directive France initially wanted to introduce regular technical inspections for motorbikes and scooters from 2023. However, due to the protests that followed, the French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari and the President Emmanuel Macron clearly declared their opposition to the periodic motorbike inspections wanted by the EU in the summer of 2021. Instead, they want to "implement more concrete and less restrictive alternative measures to improve the safety and environmental compatibility of motorised two-wheelers''.

Denmark
In Denmark, a new law came into force at the same time as the EU regulation, which allows the Danish Road Traffic Authority to carry out random roadside inspections of the technical condition and noise level of motorbikes.

Finland
Finland is also not introducing a roadworthiness test for the vehicles in question and will thus continue the current practice. The ministry said that sufficiently effective measures were already in place and that this assessment and a list of measures had already been submitted to the EU Commission in March 2019.


However, according to both the demonstrators in France and FEMA (European Motorcycle Federation), there is no evidence that the technical condition of motorbikes plays a significant role in accidents. Rather, accidents are more often due to inattention, delayed reactions or excessive speed. Therefore, the training of road users, behavioural aspects, infrastructure and the enforcement of existing traffic rules play a much greater role in road safety than regular technical checks.