Mandatory Speed Trackers For Motorcycles Proposed In The U.K.

It would appear that the whole reckless riding problem in the is reaching a fever pitch. A few weeks ago, we covered a story wherein the police began deploying drones to catch illegal off-roader. This time around, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has proposed the use of mandatory trackers and speed monitors on all motorcycles. Yup, you read that right. All motorcycles. 

The commissioner has proposed this rather drastic mandate in a bid to locate and check the speed of all motorcycles at all times. This has been done in order to fight the rising number of cases of speeding, and what the commissioner is calling "anti-social behavior." Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of motorcyclists in the U.K. raised their strong objections with regard to the new proposal. With the fact of the matter being that most motorcyclists are indeed law-abiding citizens, the majority of U.K. bikers definitely did not appreciate this proposal which would effectively tag all motorcyclists as criminals. 

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As has been the case for decades now, trackers are often used as forms of punishment for convicted felons, or for individuals who have undergone due process through the judiciary system. The British Motorcycling Federation was quick to chime in with regard to the matter. Its chairman, Jim Freeman, in a report by VisorDown expressed, "The mandatory use of a tracker is usually a sentence imposed by the courts after due process has been followed, but this would be tantamount to a collective punishment that sweeps hundreds of thousands of innocents up along with the tiny minority of the guilty without an investigation, trial or verdict." 

The chairman also expressed that most motorcycle riders in the U.K. are in fact law-abiding citizens who prioritize safety and road courtesy above all else. That said, the imposition of mandatory speed trackers can be considered tantamount to labelling all motorcyclists as criminals. At the moment, whether or not mandatory speed monitors and trackers for all motorcycles will be implemented remains to be determined.