Since the beginning of this year, Luxembourg has endured numerous serious accidents involving motorcycles, resulting in several bikers losing their lives. François Bausch, minister for sustainable development and infrastructure, and Étienne Schneider, minister for defence and internal security, last Friday announced plans to help improve safety for motorcyclists.

A press release issued by the government explained that several measures have been adopted to increase the security of bikers on Luxembourg roads:

 - New, more relevant signs alerting bikers of particularly dangerous routes;

 - Police checks on registration documents and the technical condition of motorcycles;

 - Organisation of checks in the Greater Region together with police forces of neighbouring countries;

 - Increased police presence on high-risk routes to control excessive speed;

 - Continued police outreach and prevention efforts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks;

 - Increasing the provision in 2019 of the Fit for Your Bike training organised annually at the Colmar-Berg driver training centre. A fourth day will be held, enabling 400 motorcyclists to take part in the training course, which looks at physical and psychological fitness, as well as the technical condition of the bike;

 - Development of a pilot project by the roads authority on the Wiltz-Kautenbach section of the N25, with specific signage to encourage motorcyclists to keep a safe distance from the centre line of the road;

 - Continued work to secure escape lanes for motorcyclists.