French Associations’ Open Letter Against Technical Control

On top of demonstrations, the federations have sent an open letter.

Nov 27, 2022 at 7:01pm ET

2 min read

Another episode of technical control airs as the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC) and the French Motorcycling Federation (FFM), and Codever, write an open letter against technical control in France.

To recap, technical control has been on and off again for quite some time now, with the latest being the suspension in January, then the repeal in July, and then the reopening of the file in November 2022.

Following the suspension in January, alternate measures to improve motorcyclists’ safety were to be explored by the government. After that, the decree was repealed in July with the possibility of the case being opened up again in the future. Well, that future came in November 2022 when the decree was reinstated, and the associations that fought against it were none too happy.

Demonstrations against technical control in France were organized by FFMC in late November with more events on the way.

Now, the most recent development comes in the form of an open letter penned in an infographic style by the associations. Translated from French, the letter details a lot of what’s wrong with technical control and it reads:

Did you know that in 10 years, the number of motorized two-wheelers has increased by 30%, the number of fatalities has fallen by 19%? (ONISR figures)

Did you know that a "report" initiated by Dekra (European leader in automotive technical control) announces that 10% of motorcycle accidents are due to a technical problem, while truly independent organizations identify 0.5%? (MAIDS Report)

Did you know that more than 3% of motorcycle accidents are due to road infrastructure problems and poor maintenance of traffic lanes? (Assurance Mutuelle des Motards)

Did you know that most manufacturers perform 50-point safety checks on their customers' motorcycles in dealerships, free of charge?

Did you know that 3.9 million motorized 2-wheelers are only responsible for 0.5% of polluting emissions? (ADEME)Did you know that by making traffic more fluid, motorized two-wheelers greatly contribute to reducing pollution? More 10% motorcycles = less 40% traffic jams (University of Leuven)

Now that you know it, do you think that a paid technical inspection will improve the safety and environmental performance of motorcyclists?

For us, it's a new "shot" without warning on the 3.9 million users of motorized 2-wheelers!