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		British bikers driven round the bend Friday, 15th, December 2006 Riders revved up over "draconian" legislation Motorcycling has been backed into a corner by the ignorance of Europe, say biking enthusiasts who joined the Conservatives' call to drop plans for "draconian" new licence legislation. Labelling the EU Third Driving Licence Directive as "pointless and over-prescriptive", East Midlands Conservative MEP Roger Helmer supported a complete rejection of the proposals, but Labour and Liberal Democrat MEPS today gave the green light to burdening UK motorists and bike riders with further bureaucracy and red-tape. The EU legislation, on which Governments will have their say in the final vote next year, introduces new tests to bike riders advancing to more powerful motorbikes, wiping out the current UK system, which is based on experience. Speaking today, Mr Helmer said: "This pointless and bureaucratic legislation will cause real problems for motorcycle enthusiasts in the UK. "The UK has a tried and tested system which has resulted in the safest roads in the EU. The Directive is bureaucratic, unnecessary and over-prescriptive." Public affairs director of MAG (Motorcycle Action Group) Trevor Baird said motorcycle aspects of the Directive should have been withdrawn at an early stage, enabling riders' concerns to be addressed: "What new and young riders require is a structured, relevant and cost-effective basic training to give the novice rider the essential skills and knowledge to be capable of safely operating a motorcycle in normal traffic conditions, not a philosophical approach that has no place in the real world. "Motorcycling has been backed into a corner due to the ignorance of Europe by the mistaken belief that even more rules and regulations will make motorcycling safer. "This draconian legislation which has been foisted on motorcycling by European Transport Ministers and the European Commission is a litany of compromises and confusion, with the principle of harmonisation that one size fits all and does nothing to address the real issues of motorcycling safety."