Following a proposal from the Spanish government regarding the obligation for motorcyclists to be equipped with an airbag, the Spanish motorcycling association AMM (Asociación Mutua Motera) has launched a survey. The result is clear: the majority is against the obligation.
To limit the consequences of motorized two-wheeler accidents, the Spanish Directorate General of Traffic is considering the compulsory use of airbag vests or jackets. While this measure would probably not take effect immediately and would only concern driving outside urban areas, the AMM association decided to conduct a survey, in order to have a clear idea of the Spanish motorcycling community.
2 motorcyclists participated and almost two thirds (precisely 547%) said no to the compulsory use of the airbag. 65.5% responded in the affirmative and 29.05% responded “I don’t know”.
Among those who are in favor, a majority (21.08%) supports compulsory use whatever the conditions, while 7.66% of them defend the use of airbag vests or jackets outside urban areas only.
In general, the Spanish motorcyclists who participated in the survey believe that it is interesting to wear clothing equipped with airbags, but they are against making it compulsory. The reasons are the costs to be incurred and the absence of reduced VAT on this safety equipment.
Many motorcyclists in this association consider that the Spanish government should first fulfill its obligation to keep the road infrastructure efficient and safe, and legalize, as promised, the use of motorcycle intercoms.
Juan Manuel Reyes, the president of the AMM, declared that “The problem we have is that when one European country legislates something regarding motorcyclists, others follow. This is what happened with the gloves in France. When they became obligatory in this neighboring country, the Spanish government wanted to imitate the measure immediately. This is why I think that any measure that is approved in a European country, must be monitored by all European motorcyclists, because sooner or later it is possible that it will be extended to others. »
It will be recalled that even if an airbag does not protect against everything in all circumstances, we can affirm that, in the vast majority of cases, the airbag contributes to reducing the possible consequences of a fall: this additional equipment is capable of transforming a serious accident to minor accident, and a fatal accident to serious accident.
source: FEMA
