Costly farm quad-bike regulation threat deflected
Posted, December 05, 2011 @ 18:00
A key vote in Brussels today means farmers should now escape unnecessary regulation that would have made their off-road quad bikes much more expensive.
Proposed EU legislation was all set to lump in the Utility All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) used on many farms with the quad bikes used on public roads and make them all subject to stringent new safety and anti-pollution measures.
Farmers were worried that new limits on emissions and the introduction of compulsory ABS brakes would make their vital machines too expensive to run.
But today MEPs heeded warnings from Conservative MEP and Chairman of the internal market committee Malcolm Harbour. The Committee voted to exclude Utility ATVs from a package of regulations affecting motor cycles and on-road quad bikes and instead to include them in a new category for ATVs to be included in legislation on tractors and other agricultural vehicles.
Mr Harbour said: "We are very happy at the way the authors of this legislation have listened to our important objections so far as farm quads are concerned and haven´t blocked our proposed changes.
"This should mean that farmers who rely on all-terrain quads will be able to continue using them without the added cost of ABS, which would not be helpful off-road, or very demanding emissions limits which would have been disproportionate to the relatively low mileage they clock up.
"Safety features that are welcome on road quads would have make farm quads less suitable and less safe, yet they would have become significantly more expensive. ATVs are an integral part of many farms and they must not be regulated out of existence.
"I am pleased that we have been able to work with the industry, notably the All Terrain Vehicle Industry European Association, to deflect a threat that could have been extremely harmful to manufacturers and to farmers"
The decision of committee is subject to confirmation by a vote of the whole European Parliament.