In this category you will find articles covering legal topics related to motorcycles and road traffic. This includes changes in legislation, court decisions, regulations, as well as developments concerning registration, licensing and road safety.
The list below brings together reports on national and international rules, judicial decisions and political initiatives that may affect motorcycle riders or the motorcycle market. Where possible, the background and practical implications of the respective regulations are explained.
This section provides an overview of the legal framework and current developments relevant to motorcycle riders.
On the twisty L698 over the Kohlberg between Altena-Dahle and Neuenrade, residents have been complaining about noise and excessive speed for years. The CDU group on Altena’s town council wants to change that with a ten-point plan ranging from new speed limits to a fixed speed camera.
The shape of the Vespa Primavera is now protected as a three-dimensional trade mark in all 27 member states of the European Union. Behind the decision lies a legal dispute that goes back more than ten years, during which the responsible EU authority had even temporarily overturned the Vespa protection.
The UK’s National Motorcyclists Council has presented a ten-point plan against motorcycle theft, antisocial riding and motorcycle-related crime. Some measures are already under way, while others remain a wish list even by the organisation’s own admission.
Since 21 September 2026, vehicle-and-trailer combinations with a towing vehicle of up to 3.5 tonnes no longer need e-TOLL in Poland. The new rule does not apply on every route, and anyone with credit left on their toll account has to act.
A 21-year-old motorcyclist from Münster has been given an eight-month suspended sentence by Rheine District Court. In April he fled from the police without a licence, without registration and without insurance cover, and the court confiscated his motorcycle.
The Los Angeles city council is having it examined whether the sale of e-motos that are not street legal can be banned. Behind it lies a problem occupying all of California: many electric dirt bikes are sold as e-bikes even though they are legally motorcycles.
Italy is waiving vehicle tax on motorcycles in 2027, with no limit on power output or displacement. The exemption applies to one vehicle per person only, however, and anyone who owns a small car gets nothing for the motorcycle.
For the tenth time, the motorcycle demonstration “Freedom is our Religion” rolled through central Berlin. According to the organisers, more than 700 motorcycles took part in the procession on 12 September 2026.
The first test drives for a driverless taxi service begin in Munich in the coming weeks, and other operators are already on the road there. For motorcyclists that pushes one question to the front, and there is still no solid European answer to it: how reliably does this technology detect a single-track vehicle?
In Denmark it is prohibited to ride a motorcycle between waiting rows of cars. An association with close to 30,000 members wants to change that and is meeting clear resistance.
In August the grain harvest is in full swing, with combine harvesters and tractors shuttling between field and farm. For motorcyclists the machines themselves are less of a problem than what they leave behind on the asphalt.
Built-in cameras do not make a vehicle illegal in any European country, not even in Austria or Switzerland. Retrofitted cameras are another matter: in Baden-Württemberg the state data protection commissioner imposed fines of 1,000 to 2,000 euros on vehicle owners.
A motorcyclist riding in a group of six lost half of his compensation after a collision with a car. The decisive factor was a rule that matters on every ride but is rarely thought about in everyday practice.
The Munich Administrative Court has dismissed the lawsuit against the motorcycle riding ban on the B 307 and declared the order issued by the Rosenheim district authority lawful. The German Motorcyclists’ Federation is now waiting for the written grounds of the judgment and will decide its next steps depending on whether the closure becomes permanent next year.
South Tyrol has banned organized motorsport events on around 100 road sections and generally above 1,600 meters in altitude. With the official list of routes and details on fines and enforcement, it’s now possible to pinpoint exactly where the ban applies and what touring riders are still allowed to do.
Austria is overhauling its traffic fines from January 1, 2027. Fines for anonymous penalty notices will then apply at the same level in every federal state and rise by an average of around 50 percent.
According to media reports, the European Commission is examining a technology that would automatically slow vehicles down when they exceed the speed limit. For motorcyclists, the plan raises a number of open questions, since no law exists yet.
South Tyrol’s regional government has banned organized motorsport events on mountain pass roads above 1,600 meters and in protected areas. The ruling takes effect immediately and raises a key question for motorcyclists that the official text doesn’t clearly answer.
Across Europe, cases are piling up where automatic emergency braking systems trigger a full stop without any real obstacle. For motorcyclists riding behind such vehicles, this sudden braking can be life-threatening.
For the first time ever, a European country has legalized dashcams by law, while the classic ban countries are noticeably tightening their enforcement. Anyone riding a motorcycle across several borders this summer will run into a patchwork of rules that can change every few kilometers.
