Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure motorbikes observe speed limits and engine noise level limits, in particular on rural roads.

The Government recognises that 60% of road fatalities occurred on rural roads, according to the latest statistics. The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.

Local authorities are best placed to decide on delivery of road safety initiatives, because of their knowledge of the roads for which they are responsible. We aid local authorities by providing guidance and initiatives such as our flagship road safety campaign, THINK!

Strict noise regulations for motorbikes are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance through the process of type approval before being placed on the market. This involves testing the vehicle across a broad range of driving conditions. Replacement silencers that are to be used on the road must also meet strict noise limits that are aligned with those of the original vehicle.