The European Council has adopted new rules to toughen up the testing regime and widen its scope. More than 5 people die on Europe’s roads every day in accidents linked to technical failures, which are responsible for 6% of all car accidents and 8% of all motorcycle accident. The new proposals aim to save more than 1.200 lives a year and to avoid more than 36.000 accidents linked to technical failure. Key elements of the new proposals include:

– Compulsory EU wide testing for scooters and motorbikes,

– Motorbike and scooter riders, particularly young riders, are the highest risk group of road users,

– Increasing the frequency of periodic roadworthiness tests for old vehicles,

– Increasing the frequency of tests for cars and vans with exceptionally high mileage,

– Improving the quality of vehicle tests,

– Making electronic safety components subject to mandatory testing,

-Clamping down on mileage fraud, with registered mileage readings.