Parliament votes to withdraw law obliging testing of bikes above 125cc
ANCIA, the national association of automobile inspection centres, has stressed today that the nation’s centres have been prepared since 2016 to assess compliance with minimum requirements (of roadworthiness) of motorbikes; they have spent upwards of €30 million in specific adaptations – yet now, 12 years since the law was passed obliging motorbikes over the cylinder capacity of 125cm3 to be regularly tested, parliament has voted to withdraw it.
To add to the sense of ‘wasted effort’, the law has been on the statute books since 2012, but never went ahead.
The previous Socialist government “had determined that from January 2025, compulsory motorbike inspections would finally come into force”, but now this has been overturned, with all parliamentary benches voting in favour, with exception of LIVRE – a party with only one MP – which abstained.
ANCIA said in a statement today that parliament’s decision “raises deep concerns in the automotive sector and among road safety advocates”.
The association adds that “heavy investments” were made by centres to ensure compliance with the law; they were equally “guaranteed” that the law would finally start being enacted in 2025, and instead they have been left feeling deceived, as well as out of pocket.
“The repeal of this measure results in an underutilisation of () resources, representing a waste of investment, affecting the financial sustainability of these centres, and it is manifestly inconsistent that, with inspection centres having been set up by order of the State to inspect this category of vehicles since 2016, these structures are not used while there are still fatal accidents involving this category of vehicle”, says the statement.
Who are delighted by the decision are bikers themselves, who held a protest earlier this year (see image above) to campaign against the requirement for MOTs, maintaining that the very notion was ‘a robbery’.
Source material: Jornal de Notícias
