Spring marks the resumption of motorcycle rides with friends, but unfortunately, the massive influx of motorized two-wheelers on the winding roads does not please everyone. Due to certain behaviors of a minority of motorcyclists, speed and noise pollution are often criticized. To remedy this, we are witnessing a worrying phenomenon with the establishment of driving bans for motorcycles on certain roads during the summer, for example in Austria two years ago, then in Switzerland where an elected official filed a bill going in the same direction. It is now in Germany that bans are emerging…
This is bad news at the start of spring for German bikers and motorcycle associations. In the Feldberg region, the district council has in fact announced a temporary closure of mountain roads to motorcycles – and only to motorcycles – every second weekend of the month between April and October 2022, specifying that this was there of an experiment.
The problem is that in 2019, certain roads had already been banned for motorcycles in this same region, notably those which go up to the Feldberg plateau. Officially, it is a “noise break” for local residents. This decision, of course, was far from unanimous, as many area residents rely on two-wheelers to get their jobs done and view motorcycling as a valuable activity. These closures are “tests” according to local authorities, but it is already the second “test” of a traffic ban for motorcycles in several years.
In his press release dated March 26, 2019, district administrator Ulrich Krebs promised: “The testing hold is open… We will sit down with everyone involved and review and evaluate the results of the data collected in May and September (2019). » To date, however, this promise has not been kept. There was no open and transparent discussion of the results with the motorcycle associations. This gives the impression that the authorities will continue to “test” until they achieve the desired result.
The BDVM, German motorcycle organization, and member of the FEMA (Federation of European Motorcycle Associations), wrote to the district administrator and the mayors of Schmitten and Oberursel, as well as all parties of the district council in March 2021 (before the start of the motorcycle season) and proposed constructive and effective measures to solve the problem. Politicians have never acceded to this request. The letter was never answered. Therefore, motorcyclists interpret the current regulations as an “authoritarian” affront. There is no attempt to involve motorcyclists and citizens in problem solving.
During the 2021 local election campaign, both politicians promised motorcycle associations in writing that route closures would only be considered a "last resort" if other measures proved ineffective. Softer alternative measures (which the motorcycle associations had even submitted in writing) have not been and are not carried out or tested in a verifiable manner. This lack of words from politicians also outraged German bikers.
Therefore, several German motorcycling communities will express their dissatisfaction with the decision during a demonstration planned for May 14, 2022 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe.
It is unfortunate that motorcycle bans due to noise are starting to roll out across Europe. Germany is not the first country to start implementing these restrictions. France has also long been experimenting with ways to mitigate noise pollution from two-wheelers, particularly gas-powered delivery scooters in Paris. Due to this growing concern and awareness regarding pollution, whether noise or otherwise, one can't help but see the future of our beloved passion in a rather bleak light.
