RIGHTS OF WAY (CLICK HERE)

HANDS OFF OUR THROTTLES

REPORT-A-ROAD

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Improve road maintenance by reporting road defects to the highways department of your local authority or, for motorways and trunk roads, the local office of the Highways Agency.

Motorcycles and scooters cause less damage to roads than any other motorised vehicles, but are more susceptible to defective road surfaces. Badly maintained roads resulting in worn out surfaces, potholes, sunken drains/inspection covers and use of overbanding etc. are often a contributory factor in motorcycle and scooter accidents. With properly maintained roads, the rider spends less time checking the road surface for hazards and more time anticipating potential dangers from other road users.

This section features an alphabetically indexed list of contact details for county, local, and unitary authorities with responsibility for repairing road defects.

Note: In cases of diesel spillage, mud, or other road surface contamination that is a danger to road users, notify the local police.

How to use this page:-

Note: A call centre system with the unlikely name of CLARENCE (Customer Lighting And Roads ENquiry CEntre ) is used in various areas of the UK to allow you to quickly and easily report any road and lighting defects and hazards.

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How to include / update information in this section:
Please email all changes / updates to webmaster@bmf.co.uk

 

BMF GET HEAVY ON RIGHTS of WAY - THE BEGINNING OF THE END? The BMF has undertaken one of it’s heaviest letter writing campaigns ever in lobbying MPs and Lords as the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill (NERC Bill) goes through its House of Lords Committee stage. If passed, the Bill will restrict trail users to solely those rights of way (RoW) that are officially recorded on what is known as ‘definitive maps.’ This means that many unrecorded legitimate ancient RoWs will be unavailable to vehicular traffic and further, the BMF warns that this could become part of a bigger plan to restrict use of ALL minor roads in National Parks. While supporting the Bill’s basic aims of clarifying where vehicles are permitted, the BMF say the Bill will do nothing to prevent nuisance-use (almost all of which is already illegal under current legislation) of byways or common land. All that the new legislation will mean is that legitimate law-abiding citizens are denied motorised access to the countryside say the BMF. In restating its policy on land access the BMF again called for:- * Better policing of our existing laws rather than banning all vehicular use. * A RoW policy that will allow access to a proper connected network – not the broken routes we have now. * A RoW network based on sustainability criteria as proposed by the Land Access and Recreation Association & Trail Riders Fellowship and already discussed with the Department for Rural Affairs (Defra). * Re-activating the Government’s currently suspended 'Discovering Lost Ways' project. * A Government policy that would actively encourage the creation of ‘recreational sites’, recognising that this would likely go some way to reduce the load on the RoW network. Claims that motor vehicles damage byways are often exaggerated as a way of justify closure say the BMF. The majority of byways are in good condition and well able to sustain long-term use, in particular, by motorcycles. In some cases say the BMF; byways are only usable at all because trail riding motorcyclists are maintaining them! Illegal use is the real problem say the BMF, but that those wishing to further restrict a law-abiding minority have ignored this. Walkers already have access to a network 20 times the size of the byway network, but this doesn’t seem to be enough. This is a skewed view of the rights of individuals say the BMF. Some people think nothing of polluting the planet in a 4x4 driving to their favourite beauty spot, but object if someone wants to continue that journey on a legitimate byway. BMF spokesman Jeff Stone said: “This Bill is only the start for those who wish to see the legitimate use of motorcycles banned from our county side - both off and on tarmac. Moves by the Council for the Preservation for Rural England (CPRE) to persuade the Department of Transport into finally producing the ‘Guidance for Quiet Lanes’ may seem innocuous, but this could well contain ideas such as blanket 20mph speed limits or the use of ‘Traffic Regulation Orders’ to ban motor vehicles from such Quiet Lanes. This could spell the beginning of the end for rural motorcycling.” It is well documented that motorcyclists make a substantial contribution to the rural economy and it is short-sited to restrict people further. Above all it is an example of unnecessary legislation pandering of the demands of the influential vocal to the detriment of the responsible trail user say the BMF. BMF Government Relations Executive Richard Olliffe went further and said: “The BMF continues to question the Government’s ‘Right to Roam’ policy with regard to motorcycling. It would seem that this is based on the Orwellian principal that some are more equal than others when it come to countryside access, or is it simply that even a socialist Government finds itself unequal to the 5% of the population that own 95% of the land in the United Kingdom?” The BMF say that before the NERC Bill returns to House of Commons for its finally stages in mid February, it is vitally important that all members of the motorcycle community make it clear to their MP’s their concerns over the NERC Bill. Full details, a list of MPs and a form letter are all on the BMF’s website: www.bmf.co.uk/notice-board/     Home Sign Mulhouse Declaration Opinion poll Feedback EVSC - ISA Information     EVSC - ISA - No To Throttle Control - No To Control MAG re launches its 2001 campaign to oppose the compulsory fitment to privately owned vehicles of any device designed to arbitrarily remove control from the driver to remote operation and asks all vehicle users to sign the Mulhouse Declaration. MAG President Ian Mutch was emphatic about the issue. "Let's keep this one simple, we don't want it, not today not tomorrow not ever." Withdrawing control from the rider is fundamentally what MAG was set up to oppose. Motorcycling is about fun and freedom and control, your hand on your throttle, your decision. If people abuse that control and fall foul of the law then that is a different issue but when technology is deployed to directly control motorcycles then a big line is crossed and MAG knows exactly which side of that line it stands on. Withdrawing control from the rider is fundamentally what MAG was set up to oppose. This is ultimately a philosophic issue, it’s not just about safety, it’s about what sort of society we want to live in. MAG says, “We don’t want to live in a society with the level of control which ISA can make possible and we intend to get more votes for our point of view than the safety zealots get for theirs. MAG’s Director of Public Affairs Trevor Baird recently rode a prototype motorcycle fitted with ISA technology which was developed by the University of Leeds, the Department for Transport and MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association). You can read the article and further back ground information is available by clicking on “EVSC - ISA Information”

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