Important!!!!

[popik81]

no more amg opc and m-power?? i dont belive.....

[thepuddlejumper]

ACE are asking everone to email or post letters of concern to their MEP's and MP's.  They have a draft letter for all to amend to their own style, this is the link http://www.the-ace.org.uk/chat_with_ace/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1023

Ralph

[landyman]

every car i have owned and every bike has been altered tuned or accessorised which sounds as though it will fall foul of this legislation, most custom cars hot rods landrovers custom and classic bikes also come into this problematic law and thats not including the young boy racers. my concern is how will they police this ? i could see the powers that be picking there own points to attack that are press friendly just to appease the killjoys in this world, bear in mind that all goverment vehicules are deemed exempt from this modification law.at a classic motorcycle show i noticed a lot  of bikes with upgraded brakes mudguards seats petrol tanks some of which were fitted because original spares are no longer availible so to keep running substitutions( bodges) have to be made, this mend and make do mentality runs to cars as well. don't know how to stop this offence to our human rights goverment thinking normaly ass licks to the eu beurocrats remember catalitic converters instead of lean burn engines(but remember non of them are corrupt lol).the jobs involved if this comes to be will run into hundreds of thousands probably more taking into acount of supply companys and transport.thanks for the rant lads we need to find a plan for this by the way not long till guy fawkes night lol.

maybe we need rustys passenger and help from the force!!!

[bis13]

this will never happen as it is a euro thing, euro countries have the mot every two years have we adopted that? no because the knock on effect to the motor industry. there is no way that cars would have to be exactly as they left the factory as that is impossible to police and the mot would take a day a car! i say don,t worry as this is a load of old tosh and would not make any sense. how could you possibly declare new legislation overnight and then render most cars on the road unroadworthy how would you get to work? the economy would crash overnight in loss of taxes from no one filling up coupled with lost production from industry, the public transport system would be unable to cope and if you resort to your bike won,t that pair of cow horn handle bars render it illegal too?     

[Blonde126]

They can't do this?! This will cause colossal damage to the economy in many ways; less cars on the road means less fuel being bought, and businesses dealing/involving modified cars will collapse...etc etc

Can't believe this 

Is it your dad who has a modifying business? A mate of mine builds beach buggies, looks bad for him as well.

Yeah the company deals with hot rods, old vehicles etc, I don't even know of anyone who owns a classic vehicle that has it 100% how it came out the factory 

I hope the government sees sense, the last thing this country needs is a loss of businesses nationwide. Also some modifications are to make the vehicle safer like disc brakes, so I don't understand why they want to make any modifications illegal?!

[Rusty's Uncle]

Whatever they say, bearing in mind what I heard an MP say on the radio the other day "I am a politician therefore I lie" the only reson is to try and force as many old vehicles off the road as possible. In their narrow warped minds they assume that it will stimulate demand for new vehicles and hence give a boost to ailing motor industries throughout Europe 

[thepuddlejumper]

Hi all, I emailed all MEP's throughout GB several have replied with the following:

Dear Mr Ridley

Thank you for your email about the European Commission's proposal for an EU Roadworthiness Testing Directive, which was published in July 2012. Many of my correspondents, like you, have been concerned about the alarmist comments on this proposal that have appeared on some car enthusiasts web sites. We want to reassure you that it will certainly not be rushed into approval in its present form, to the detriment of owners and users of historic, modified and low volume specialist vehicles.

On the contrary, this proposal is very far from being agreed, despite the fact that it has already been subject to extensive consultation. It will go through a full Co-Decision procedure involving the European Parliament and all the EU Member Governments. The proposed content will certainly be modified extensively. It has many flaws and it is not at all clear that there will be a majority of Member States in favour of any EU intervention in this policy area. The UK has yet to take a position on it.

Within the European Parliament, review of the dossier is being led by the Transport Committee, and 3 other Committees will have key roles. A large number of UK MEPs will be examining the dossier and proposing amendments. No work has yet started in Parliament. We would not expect agreement before the end of 2013. You will be able to follow its progress through the web site of the European Parliament and also see a live web cast of all the discussions. The attached file shows the current procedure that will be followed, with links to the key proposal documents. The full timetable, and the appointment of the key MEPs on the file (rapporteurs) will be decided in September. it is likely that there will be a public hearing at which the case for amendments can be made.

Parliaments In Member States will also be able to give their opinions, and the proposal will already have been sent to the Westminster Parliament for a response.

The UK Government is also very deeply involved through the Department of Transport. They will have representatives in all the negotiations with the European Commission. It is already consulting stakeholders, and we attach their request for views from interested parties for your interest.

Conservative MEPs will take great care to ensure that sympathetic treatment for historic and modified vehicles will be encompassed in any final legislation. For several years we have been working with the Federation of British Historical Vehicles Clubs, and their European Federation, to respond to consultations that the EU has been having on this proposal. The attached note from the FBHVC web site shows what has been going on. In the European Parliament we have a well supported, all party and cross country Historic Vehicles Group that meets regularly to co-ordinate activities. We are very much aware of the economic importance of the historic vehicle movement.

It will be important for the historic vehicle movement, the specialist niche vehicle and kit car producers across Europe to examine the details and make a considered case to amend the flaws in this proposal. We are confident that MEPs will be very receptive to suggested changes form experts in this area.

Your sincerely


Ashley Fox MEP

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Cheers Ralph.

[thepuddlejumper]

All see the reply from Stephen S Hughes MEP, it makes interseting reading hope it's on the level.

Ralph
 

Dear Mr Ridley
 
Thank you for alerting me to your concerns over proposed changes to the requirements for classic or heritage car owners.
 
These are proposed changes that have been put forward by the European Commission in July. The usual EU legislative process is for the European Commission to initiate legislation and then for the European Parliament and Council (where the 27 national Governments sit) to scrutinise and amend the proposals before any changes are passed into law.  At this stage the European Commission's proposals have just been transmitted to the European Parliament and MEPs will over the coming months have the chance to put forward changes they feel are necessary to improve the European Commission's text. This means that we have a lot of scope to change elements of the Commission proposal that we do not like and this is precisely the work that my colleague, Brian Simpson, who leads for Labour MEPs on transport issues, will be doing over the next few months.
 
Getting now to the content of the Commission's revision proposals, any new changes must be about finding a good balance between ensuring high standards of road safety and putting in place rules that are proportionate to the associated risks. I have raised your concerns directly with my colleague Brian Simpson and while he welcomes some of the sensible changes proposed by the Commission, he is not in favour of imposing excessive regulations that in effect prevent owners of historic and/or modified vehicles from continuing to enjoy their pastime.
 
It is for this reason that last week he raised your concerns over the alleged restrictions on modifying vehicles directly with the European Commission. In the meeting with Commission officials responsible for writing this legislation they clarified that the new legislation does not in any way prevent vehicle owners from modifying their vehicles. We believe the confusion may have stemmed from the new requirement for vehicle manufacturers to provide testing centres with access to the technical information necessary for MOT tests. This requirement, however, does not in any way mean that all components would have to conform with those which were on the car when it was first registered or that vehicles will be failed their MOT test due to alterations.
 
The intention is simply to ensure that vehicle manufacturers release technical information that could assist and facilitate testers in doing their job. The legislation does not make any reference to failing motorists on their MOT tests on the basis of modifications to their vehicle. I provide you here below with a link to the specific legislative proposal, where you can find the reference to this requirement on page 15, under Article 4.
 
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/pdf/road_worthiness_package/proposal_for_a_regulation_on_periodic_roadworthiness_tests_en.pdf
 
The Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas, will be coming to the European Parliament's Transport Committee during the afternoon of 17th September, where Brian Simpson, as Chairman of that Committee, will ask the Commissioner to publicly confirm that motorists will be allowed to keep on modifying their vehicles. You will be able to follow this meeting via webstreaming at the following link http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/committees/
 
I hope this response has helped allay your concerns over the new EU changes affecting MOT tests.
 
Yours Sincerely,
Stephen S Hughes MEP