Around 500 motorcyclists protested this weekend, against the 'farcical' imposition of mandatory periodic inspections on motorcycles with more than 125cc's, which is said to come into force from January 2024.
In an initiative promoted by Grupo Acção Motociclista (GAM), the 'bikers', coming from various parts of the Algarve, gathered at Estádio Algarve, travelling towards Faro Airport and ended up in the centre of Faro, on a slow ride of about 16km, taking about 45 minutes.
The transposition of a European directive, from 2014, means the mandatory periodic inspection (IPO) of motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles with a cylinder capacity greater than 125 cubic centimeters (cm3).
The new law “takes effect from the 1st of January 2024”, says the decree-law n.º 29/2023, published in Diário da República.
The inspections will have to be carried out “five years after the date of the first registration and then every two years”, according to the legislation.
“Inspection guarantees revenue, it does not prevent accidents”, “Safety yes, business no”, “It's not the motorcycle's fault” and “We are not a business”, were some of the messages displayed on the protesters' motorcycles.
José Amaro, president of the Moto Clube de Faro, which for four decades has organised the most well known 'biker' rally in the country, told Lusa news agency that he still believes there will be a reversal of the new law, "provided there is good sense from the competent authorities".
“In my opinion, they are totally incompetent, because they put people in a position to deal with matters they are not aware of, they are not motorcyclists nor have motorcyclists had a say in this legislation that they approved”, he said.
Criticising “the lobby of the inspection centers, which will guarantee another source of revenue”, the motorcyclist leader considered that “based on the assumption that, if there are inspections, there are fewer accidents” is “a farce” and a false argument about a residual or virtually non-existent problem.
The manifesto of Grupo Acção Motorcyclista, distributed to journalists, mentions two studies, one focused on the European space and the other by a French insurance company, which indicate 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, as the percentage of accidents with motorcycles “whose cause is a technical deficiency of the vehicle”.
Nuno Estorninho, leader of GAM and president of Moto Clube de Lagoa, also stressed that using safety and security issues to apply this new legislation “does not make any sense”.
“For those who ride a motorcycle, they know very well that there are no accidents due to mechanical breakdowns. Accidents exist because of human causes or external causes, such as holes in the road or animals, and that is not an excuse”, he stressed.
He suggested instead, more inspections by the police authorities: “Put the policemen to work on the road and they will carry out the inspection themselves. If the motorcycle is not in compliance, the police officer orders an inspection. We don't understand why this [mandatory] inspection is being put in place just for stealing.”
Ricardo Brito, from Moncarapacho, also rebelled saying, “Why they allege to go ahead with the inspections is baseless. If we look at the accident rate, the biggest causes are human error and the poor condition of the roads, it has nothing to do with the bike”, he said. Highlighting that motorcyclists “are the first to worry about the state of their motorcycle”. He suggested “more training”, especially for motorists who, “without experience”, start driving motorcycles.
José Amaro mentioned that many modified motorcycles, whether due to the motorcyclists' creativity or to reinforce their safety, will not pass the new mandatory inspections.
“I give my example, I have a motorcycle that is 34 years old and if it goes to inspection it will not pass. But I improved it, with new brakes, new wheels, better suspension. But as this is not within this legislation, logically it will not pass. This legislation is not protecting me.”
It remains to be seen whether this new mandatory inspection deemed by those in the know as a 'farce' and 'just theft', goes ahead. As it stands, the inspectionstations themselves still have no information regarding what the motorcycle inspection will involve, whether new/different equipment is required, etc.
