This was passed by the European Parliament on 16th December 2006
The likely scenario for the UK will be :
* Age 16 CBT Provisional Moped, Theory and hazard perception test, Off road manouvres test, on road test. Full P licence.
* Age 17 CBT Provisional A1 motorcycle, Theory & hazard test. Off road test, on road test using 125cc bike. Full A1 licence. Restricted to 125cc 14 BHP for 2 years.
* Age 19 CBT Provisional A2 motorcycle, Theory & hazard test. Off road test, on road test using 33 BHP bike greater than 500cc. Full A2 licence. Restricted to 47 BHP for 2 years.
* Age 21 CBT Provisional A motorcycle, Theory & hazard test. Off road test, on road test using 47 BHP bike greater than 600cc. Full A licence.
* Unrestricted Direct Access will remain but at age 24 years.
It sounds complicated.... It is complicated.... Look, suppose you are 17 years old and you want a bike licence.
* There's 3 steps, at 17, 19, 21 years old.
* Each step involves theory, off-road, and on-road tests.
* Each step must be taken on a bigger bike than you are currently allowed to ride, and practiced for under Instructor supervision.
A wicked but subtle change (buried in the small print) is the proposed minimum test vehicles. 500cc bikes don't exist (they're 496 or 498). We suspect simple ignorance is the reason why every "learner bike" in existence will be useless from 2011 at huge expense to the public / training industry.
A rather discriminatory effect is that the existing A2 route for learners is abolished. There will be no way for a smaller or disadvantaged person to get a full licence anymore.(2 years experience on a 33bhp to then upgrade automatically). The disadvantaged will have to cope with 650cc (?) on test, like it or lump it. For even a new A2 it will be a 550cc (?) bike which will be rather big and heavy for small people in the new off road test.
It'll all get very expensive and difficult. It's forecast that the ultimate reduction in the number of new riders going through the new system will be as much as 60% Yes, less than half as many as at present. Add the cost to Training Centres of dealing with the 2nd directive in October 2008, only to have to re-equip for 2011 and less than half as many customers it's doubtfull that there will be many bike shops or training schools surviving anyway.
original article
Motorcycle Wiki at motorcycle co uk - Training - 3rd Driving Licence Directive
The Great European Union Stitch Up
(or How to Make Friends and Influence People)
License Graph
http://www.network.mag-uk.org/dld/DL...ChartMay06.pdf
The motorcycle amendments include increasing Direct Access of category A from 21 to 24 years of age, increasing the age of access to the different categories, as well as introducing a new category AM; testing and training between categories A2 and A1 and extending the time scale between these categories. In this country where everything is Gold Plated, this new legislation will be implemented while in countries in Southern Europe they will ignore it like they always do.
MAG UK has continually made the point that the reason we have been fighting an uphill battle to stop the amendments on motorcycles in the EU Driving Licence Directive and Daytime Running Lights, is because the car lobby is so strong in Europe.
original article
http://www.network.mag-uk.org/dld/Po...0Committee.pdf 
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