Will we hear of similar restrictions on cars and car licenses. Will new drivers be restricted to 33Bhp or 47Bhp and no more than a very basic micro mini with a 500cc auto clutch so they can focus on the roads. Another nail in the coffin for bikes.

Personally I think whatever changes they make to prevent younger riders having accidents, will not necessarily be fruitful. The reason being is that there more than one type of rider/driver. The responsible ones and those that will pass their test ok but are more likely to abuse their new found power once the licence is obtained. I think we all have a bit of that in us when we get a new machine for instance! There is another potential problem, being that some young riders will be put off by the long procedure and simply take a chance and ride illegally. This is already happening a lot under the present system.

I do about 30 thousand miles a year most in a truck and although i believe the output standard of the test should be harder; i think we should concentrate on teaching them more not making the test harder. I failed my first Hgv test because the examiner thought i wasn't concentrating due to only having one hand on the wheel, he gave me however many minors for ''steering'' which added to a serious no other minors. I didn't sway around the lane cut a corner or anything i just drove with one hand which i do now 8 years later no accidents no points. If you make people do stuff like always have 2 hands on wheel always check mirrors before changing gear they are going to think why? do it for the test and then learn to drive. We need to think get this car from A to B safely not pass a test.

Pointless meddling! Admittedly the statistics for motorcycle accidents is a higher percentage of the whole than with cars, so I guess that's why they're targeting it. However, as has been said, tests only prove a level of competency at a point in time. Experience if a much more important factor in safety.

Personally, if they want to improve safety then invest time in the training rather than legislating what most sensible people do anyway. Work there way up the bike power. At the end of the day your 125 will go over 60, plenty fast enough to kill yourself on and someone else can take you out at much lower speeds. Number of times I've had to break hard going across a roundabout!

Restricting power is pointless when peeps with these twist and go fart machines swerve in and out of traffic and dont give a sod about the rules and laws of the road. They go over the speed limit, so its not speed the law is trying to restrict, a 125 will do 70mph in a 30 limit ?????. Enforce the law instead of letting them get away with things. .... enforce licencing laws stop and check they have the correct licence. .... Cars in bus lanes. .... Push bikes going through red lights. .... Cutting people up. .... insurance dogers. .... Tax dogers. .... Dealers who sell bikes to 'L's which are too much power for the test. And yes they do. Never ending list sticking up for those of us who do it right                                                                                                                                                                               

I've been told today by my boss the changes come onto affect on 19th of Januray 2013                                                                                                                                                                             

Sooo...why is it car drivers can pass the test and jump in a high performance car immediatly? (wealth overcomes any insurance barriers). Seems to me motorcyclists are being discriminated against...thgt this illegal nowadays! I feel a power/kg restriction for new car drivers would even the scales a little..with a fresh more advanced test after say two years driving.                                                                                                                                                                             

so am i getting this right.... if you are 18 you do a test to ride a 125.... then if you want to ride something bigger once you reach 19 and not before you can but you have to do another test no matter how long you have been riding?..... and then when you reach 21 again no matter how long you have been riding you have to do another test?   That is  ridiculous - and as loads of others peeps have pointed out why the hell are car drivers "special" why can they drive what they like.... its no wonder half of em think they own the road over and above the rest of us.     there are many peeps out there who hate us coz we remind them of the freedom they havent got...... and we defo need to lobby our mps on this one                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sorry only just revisited this VB that is not my opinion that's what the directive (to me) is saying.

There are some restrictions for the driving licence too that are planned, but those are all around what age you can take certain tests, ie 18 for driving test etc etc

  It's not just the young who are learners.   The cost of redoing the CBT course and theory test after two years, and other associated costs, meant I couldn't keep my bike on the road. I failed my test 4 times, even tho I rode all-year-round for about 4 years without an accident. I used to get it all wrong on test day. Over the years I spent thousands of pounds just trying to keep on the road.   My licence will need renewing by next month, but I won't be renewing it, there's no point.                                                                                                                                                                               

It is annoying that at 18 you can vote for a government, fight in wars, pay taxes, get married etc etc. But it seems no longer trusted to drive or ride certain machines. I know that when we are young there is less fear and this follows on to how we ride or drive our vehicles. I am not knocking youth (I would like to be back there), but we have all had our mad moments on the road, sometimes we need to get it out of our system and then we calm down as we mature. So lets suppose these restrictions are put in place, at what ever age is they decide. To me when person reaches the next age group, where they can ride a larger bike, it would be like you are 16 again and why not. We all must remember getting our 1st bike or car and the feeling of freedom it gave us. What I am trying to say is that, I cannot see any point in these new resrictions. It's the nanny state dictating to us "again".                                                                                                                                                                             

Sandi   I have always had a problem with any sort of test or exam etc. I can do most things pretty well correctly until it comes to a test, then nerves take over. But what I found in the end, was to tell my self the worst thing that could happen would be to fail and they can't hang you for it. My nerves then disappeared and now things are easier for me.                                                                                                                                                                             

  Thank you for the encouragement David, I do appreciate it I really do however, I did try that, on one test.   I said to myself 'treat this as a ride out and just enjoy the ride' and I did, and I seriously thought I'd passed my practical and was even more upset when I was told I had failed it yet again.   It wasn't all gloom tho, on the way home there was a man in a garden of a house at the side of a road,  I used to pass there regularly, and he waved at me, that cheered me up.                                                                                                                                                                                 

i dont see why after a cuople years riding on a bike after passing this first test that people have to take a second test?? surely you should just be able to move on to the bigger bike ??..   why do they have to take yet another test... that bit i just dont get ...i think its good being restricted to a smaller bike for a couple of years bt that is my humble opinion but i really do not see why the heck another test should have to be taken that is unfair and ridiculous.   I guess the only other problem is that if the new EU stuff gets through it may mean that someone does test on 125 and cannot ride any bike other than a 125...even one that is restricted   actually that contradicts my earlier statement about staying on 125 being good.... pmsl that is me ALL OOVVVVVVVVVVERRR .... contrary mary ........                                                                                                                                                                             

Sandi I was worried about mine and the instructor said to treat my examiner instructions as tho it was a gps in my ear and altho it sounds mad it really worked and I forgot he was even there
                                                                                                                                                                             

I think to be honest David, your comment on 'mad moment on the road' is why they are doing it. 

Unfortunately now those 'mad moments' which yes we have all had are in boxes that are a lot more powerful & dangerous than they were 20 years ago & lets face it a lot more dangerous to be hit by. 

Unfortunately a young biker now having a mad moment has no more protection from being hit by a re-enforced car than he has years ago & is more likely to come off a hell of a lot worse than he would then.

Now dont get me wrong I am not saying I totally agree with the restrictions, for me it should be extended to young car drivers too.                                                                                                                                                                              

Shell, I probably didn't put my point over in the way I intended. I agree that what ever restrictions, new test criteria etc, should be across the board for what ever vehicle. However I think it is wrong to judge youngsters on age rather than their ability. I know there are a lot of irresponsible young drivers and riders around, but there are also many irresponsible older one's on the roads. I know a lot of good young drivers/riders, who are in my son's circle of friends, aged between the 17 to 22. Under the new proposals they would have been un-deservedly penalized due to their age.                                                                                                                                                                             

I agree David, however unfortunately the ability that some presume they have does not match up to the reality, add that to the stupidity of age & its not a good outcome ... 

But how is this overcome ... more testing to prove the ability ...
restrict ages for certain things .... hopefully the stupidity is gone.

Main thing for me is that it should be done 1st on cars, as they ARE a deadly weapon in a stupid OR incapable driver hands,                                                                                                                                                                              

sounds like a load of bollocks to me i think they ought to restrict the car learners                                                                                                                                                                                

i totally agree Bill  - yet another way to quash the freedom fighters aka bikers   oh to live in a free society where we are born and die free... now that would be nice wouldnt it ...