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How The Dutch Did It!
Issued 9th August 2006
The Dutch Motorcyclists' Action Group (MAG NL) has been very successful in its efforts to have wire rope fences banned.
In December 2005, after successful lobbying by MAG NL, the Dutch parliament voted in favour of a ban on cable barriers in the Netherlands. This success came after a change in the approach by MAG NL. Years of talks with civil servants of (amongst others) the ministry for transport never gave clear results, but as soon as MAG NL started to get elected politicians involved, both on a national and a regional level, the ball started rolling. At the same time the Dutch launched a pr campaign, in an attempt to get the 'popular opinion' on their side.
On Saturday 10th September 2005 MAG NL organized a protest run to underline motorcyclists' objections to the use of cable barriers (or wire rope fences). To visualize the dangers of cable barriers the riders took it upon themselves to make the barrier 'motorcyclist friendly' by covering it with straw bales.
The protest was attended by hundreds of riders and was held in the province of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, where a cable barrier was placed. This particular cable barrier was placed alongside a canal, because this barrier is easy to remove when large ships are launched from the shipyard on the other side of the canal. According to the authorities a 'normal' crash barrier would be washed away by the wave caused by the ships launch. Removing and then re-installing a normal barrier for every ship launch would be too expensive.
Dutch riders did not accept this ludicrous excuse and would not accept that motorcycle safety is sacrificed in order to protect the financial interest of a shipyard.
The protest was supported by the Dutch foundation 'Mobility for the Handicapped' and they joined the ride on their (often specially modified) bikes and trikes. The foundation defends the rights of handicapped riders, including a number of riders that have lost a limb to road side furniture.
During the protest run there was great interest by the media for the riders' protest and this turned out to be a perfect opportunity to get national exposure for riders' wishes. MAG NL also used the media interest to focus on the recent FEMA report on crash barriers, 'The Road to Success'.Link: Here
In January 2006 the regional 'parliament' of the Dutch province of Overijssel, in the east of the Netherlands, rejected plans to install cable barriers (or wire rope fences) along the N340. The plans were to re-design this road and change it from a two-lane road into a two-plus-one road (where the extra lane would be used for overtaking, alternating between both directions of traffic).
The plans included the placement of cable barriers on both sides of the road and between the lanes of opposing traffic.
MAG NL has been fighting these plans since 2004, but following the vote in favour of a ban on cable barriers in the Netherlands by the National Parliament in December 2005, the politicians in Overijssel changed their views and they now support MAG's view (helped by a 24-hour information-bombardment and intense lobbying by MAG NL before the debate).
The protest run in September 2005 against the cable barriers along the N860 in the province in Groningen was followed by a series of talks and discussions with the authorities.
This has had the result: that the last Dutch cable barrier was dismantled in July 2006!
MAG NL knows that for road authorities wire rope fences are still a very interesting alternative to regular crash barriers, simply because of their low costs.
The Dutch riders therefore stay vigilant and keep talking to (specifically) local and regional authorities to underline the dangers wire rope fences pose to motorcyclists.
Issued by Wim Taal MAG Netherlands.
Motorrijders Actie Groep (MAG)
Postbus 46
8900 AA Leeuwarden
Tel/fax: 058-2134478
Website: www.mag-nl.org
Visit MAG Campaign Website Motorcycle Friendly Crash Barriers Campaign Website Here
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