From a press release issued by the American Motorcyclist Association:

AMA Monitoring Emerging Global Motorcycle Standards

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) recently attended two meetings that are part of an effort to create worldwide standards for motorcycle brakes and for testing exhaust emissions.

Imre Szauter, a legislative affairs specialist in the AMA’s Government Relations Department, attended the United Nations working group meetings in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Montreal, Canada, as a non-voting participant, to offer motorcyclists’ perspectives on the issues and to observe the proceedings.

Antonio Perlot, general secretary of the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA), also attended the Montreal meeting.

The AMA holds non-governmental-organization (NGO) status with the U.N., which allows the AMA to participate in the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, a U.N. group that is considering international motor-vehicle standards. The forum is charged with setting regulations in areas such as safety, emissions, energy efficiency and theft prevention. The United States is one of the countries that signed the agreement creating the forum, raising the possibility that standards set by the international agency could become law in America.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) also holds NGO status with the U.N.

“As regulations governing motorcycling become more international, we need to be involved at every level,” said Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “That’s why the AMA, MRF and FEMA went through the lengthy process to earn NGO status with the United Nations. These three motorcycling organizations and the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) have pledged to work together on these and other international issues, sharing information and expertise.

“And that’s why we attended the meetings of these two U.N. working groups: to ensure that motorcyclists are monitoring what is happening with proposed global regulations, to see that the voices of motorcyclists worldwide are heard, and, in particular, to express the views of American motorcyclists.”

On Oct. 22-23, Szauter attended a working group meeting in Ann Arbor related to the World Motorcycle Test Cycle, which may become the world standard for testing motorcycle emissions. The working group could produce a draft proposal as early as summer 2003.

On Oct. 25, Szauter attended a meeting of a working group in Montreal that is pursuing global regulations for motorcycle brake systems. The work is in its preliminary stages, and a final recommendation isn’t expected until after June 2004.

“Both of these working groups are in the very early stages,” Szauter said, “but it’s vital that motorcyclists are involved from the very beginning so that the decision-makers understand the needs of motorcyclists.”