SPANISH BAN ON MOTORCYCLE TRAILERS BROUGHT BEFORE COURT

The European Commission (EC) has decided to bring Spain before the Court of Justice because it considers that Spain's absolute ban imposed on motorcycles towing trailers is an unjustifiable barrier to the free movement of goods and persons between Member States of the European Union.

The EC, while sharing the Spanish authorities' concern for road safety, which was cited as justification for the ban, considers that road safety can be achieved by measures which are less trade-restrictive. For example, other Member States impose maximum speed limits on motorcycles with trailers or set maximum trailer dimensions or weight limits on the load which the trailers may carry. After Denmark, where the trailer ban was lifted in June 1998 thanks to the efforts of the FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATIONS (FEMA), Spain is the only country imposing this type of ban. According to FEMA, this causes a lot of problems for many touring motorcyclists with trailers who are traveling between southern countries, all of which allow trailer use