§ 33. Mr. Nicholas Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any representations about the efficacy of noise regulations relating to motor cycles; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. RidleyThe Department receives a large amount of correspondence about motor cycle noise and the level of enforcement of the regulations. The police can and do enforce the regulations. In 1983, the last year for which detailed statistics are currently available, there were more than 2,800 successful prosecutions for motor cycle noise offences in England and Wales.
§ 36. Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to make it an offence for motor cycles to pass between moving vehicles which are less than 25 ft apart.
§ Mr. RidleyAlthough I have a good deal of sympathy for the thinking behind my right hon. Friend's suggestion, I suspect that a measure of the kind he proposes would be difficult to draft and impossible to enforce. I believe that the key to improved rider behaviour lies primarily in ensuring that all motor cyclists receive thorough training in the use of their machines an that is why I am currently reviewing the training and testing arrangements. Apart from this, motor cycle safety continues to be a major theme within the Department's rolling publicity campaign.