We met at Corinnes Caf (Stork lodge Tea Rooms) in Thornes Park, where suitably breakfasted, we made our way down to Woodall Services on the M1, where we met the rest of Yorkshire MAG and a large contingent from NE MAG. It was a really good turn out at Woodall, probably somewhere in the region of 100 bikes and trikes, of all shapes and sizes. We set off to Birmingham at 10:30 and set a nice steady pace of 60ish MPH to keep us all in a group. We arrived at Longbridge, Birmingham pretty much bang on schedule, and met a large number of parked up bikes and familiar faces. The weather was very hot, about 30 Celsius (high 80’s Fahrenheit in the old money) so we were pleased we were parked next to a pub and could get a cold drink. The Demo set off at 1pm and a thousand Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) members and supporters rode in convoy through Birmingham with a police escort to our own dedicated MAG car park, next to Centenary Square. The hot weather really helped the carnival atmosphere the run was generating as we passed through various parts of Birmingham. Lot’s of pedestrians, shoppers, fellow bikers and car drivers were interested in what we were doing, as with that many bikes in convoy, it was hard to miss us.
At Centenary Square, we were treated to speeches by Ian Mutch (MAG President), Trevor Baird (MAG Director of Public Affairs), West Midlands MEP Mr Philip Bradbourn OBE & Jane Chisholm (Chair of MAG). MAG's Director of Public Affairs described the 3DLD proposals as, "Beyond the Pale" offering nothing but the defeatist solution of getting rid of motorcyclists in a vain attempt to cut motorcycle accidents. Adding that, "MAG plays a big part in the safety debate but has suffered too long the biased attack of the safety lobby and enough is enough.". In an endeavour to put road safety into a proper perspective MAG President Ian Mutch said, "Road safety is not the biggest issue, the environment is and by prejudicing environmental safety in return for road safety the architects of this legislation are threatening the future of our children and our children's children". Ian Mutch described the EU officials behind the motorcycling elements of the Directive as "Grossly Irresponsible". Warning of a huge modal shift from motorcycles to cars if the directive is adopted as currently drafted, Mutch emphasised the environmental impact that would have. The meeting was also addressed by West Midlands MEP Mr Philip Bradbourn OBE who wholeheartedly supports MAG's stance on the directive. Mr Bradbourn's support is particularly significant as he sits on the EU Committee for Transport and Tourism and has been gathering support from other MEPs for the withdrawal of the motorcycling part of the licensing directive. Well done that Man !!!
Pictures of the Demo can be viewed here
The Demo was a huge success and a great event to have taken part in.
The MAG National Demo in Birmingham was only a part of the overall campaign to have the anti-motorcycling elements of the proposed directive withdrawn.
MAG is still encouraging all riders to: