LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has held a summit meeting with representatives from the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) to talk about how they can work together to reduce motorcycle and scooter crime.
MCIA was keen to bring Sadiq Khan up to date on what the industry can do to reduce theft of two wheelers of all kinds – and to suggest moves he might take to support them. Also present at the meeting were representatives from major motorcycle and scooter manufacturers.
Home Office working groups, which involve MCIA, believe that reducing theft and scooter crime will involve several different agencies and elements. Later this year, the MCIA will support the Metropolitan Police Service as it launches the second phase of its “Be Safe” campaign – showing this co-operative approach in practice.
Key to improvement is the MASTER Security Scheme which MCIA has developed. This is a registration and tagging system fitted to the new bikes of most major manufacturers. It was introduced by MCIA in 2013 and recent analysis of MASTER tagged bikes found that they had only one sixth the chance of being stolen than those which were not tagged. Around 222,000 motorcycles and scooters in the UK are MASTER protected.
MCIA CEO Tony Campbell explained the industry’s point of view. “We know the Mayor would like to hear there is a ‘magic bullet’ which can be fitted to all bikes to stop them from being stolen, but unfortunately there isn’t,” he said. “If there was, we would be fitting it, as theft is particularly damaging to business and to our customers.
Mr Campbell also suggested to the Mayor that a joint approach to security would obtain the best results. The industry was using the MASTER system and owners were being encouraged to use physical locks too – but they needed more stands across the capital which they could lock the bikes to, which was where the Mayor could help.
“For many hard working Londoners, motorcycles and scooters are the only realistic form of commuter transport, in terms of affordability, reliability and ease of movement,” Mr Campbell explained. “Powered two wheelers are a solution in reducing congestion in the capital, improve air quality and relieve the pressure on parking, as they do in other European cities. They need to be properly factored into London’s transport planning over the long term and secure parking is one of the elements to ensure this is successful.”
•For more information about MCIA, go to: www.mcia.co.uk
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