The State Council announced on Wednesday, March 12, to reject an appeal of cyclists against the new technical control imposed on two -wheeled vehicles.
The technical control has become mandatory since April 2024 for all category L vehicles (motorcycles, scooters, vehicle without a license), aroused a strong opposition of certain cyclists.
The French Bikers Federation Angry (FFMC) had asked for boycott and asked the State Council to cancel for the “excess of power” the decree and the decree that specify the methods of this control, and that they establish alternative measures. But the highest administrative jurisdiction dismissed cyclists.
A European obligation since 2014
The European Commission had introduced the obligation of all EU countries in 2014 to institute technical control for two -wheeled vehicles of more than 125 cm3 before 2022 to protect the environment and the safety of cyclists.
In the summer heart of 2021, the French government had ended up publishing a decree establishing this control. But it had quickly reversed and offered alternative measures, such as awareness campaigns or improvement of road infrastructure.
The State Council, “as already judged in October 2022”, considers that these road safety measures are “too specific and manifestly insufficient to achieve the safety objectives of the road users” provided by the European Directive.
The implementation of these measures alone “, therefore, would not allow a correct transposition by France of the European Directive,” according to the authority.
“Technical Faults” prominent
The State Council also points out that the first technical controls carried out “showed that a large part of controlled vehicles had technical failures that threaten the safety of users.”
45 % of the 123,043 verified vehicles between April 15 and May 29, 2024 presented one or more failures (poor tire state, wear of brake pads, etc.), more than 11 % of which were serious and included a safety risk, according to the statistics presented by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
According to the mobile phones of the Professional Federation, throughout the year 2024, the cyclists who inaugurated technical control were more virtuous than motorists, with a 10% rate of the counter-visite, compared to 20% on average for motorists.
The scooters were planned much more maintained. However, the current control remains essentially visual and less demanding than that of cars.
Source: BFM TV
