Strongly tinted inserts are to be withdrawn from sale after two leading manufacturers have admitted compromising rider safety – even though they are not
actually illegal for road use in the UK. Popular Wholesaler Motrax, and Visionary Ideas have both been prosecuted by Northamptonshire Trading Standards.
Magistrates heard that Trading
Standards were alerted after a police investigation into a fatal crash last year, which revealed the rider killed had a Motrax Gold Visor Insert. The insert in question cut light transmission
to eight percent with many other visors in the range offered by the two companies reducing light to only four percent. The legal limit for visors themselves in the UK is fifty percent.
According to Motrax they have been selling the inserts in good faith after being advised by Visionary Ideas that the products allowed 50% light emittence as stated on packaging. Both were
made to pay fines and costs totalling more than £17,000 and arrangements have been made to recall the products from sale.
The bike press are reporting that Motrax had relied on
verbal assurances from Visionary, which had falsely stated on packaging that the insert “cuts out 50 per cent of ambient light”, when in fact it cut out 94 per cent.
Motrax
has now incorporated new procedures to ensure that goods are tested and results known before marketing, and is now arranging recalls of the product. The two companies were prosecuted under
the General Products Safety Regulations 1994 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 because of the wording on the packaging. The fines and costs totalled £17,579. Motrax pleaded guilty to four
charges under the General Products Safety Regulations 1994 - £1,500 for each charge. Visionary pleaded guilty to three charges under the General Products Safety Regulations 1994 and one
under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 - £2,000 for each charge. The rest was in costs.
A Motrax Spokesman told the press “Although the inserts do not contravene road traffic law
and remain legal to use, any customer who has recently bought some, and is unhappy, should return the products with proof of purchase to the dealer from whom they bought
them for a full refund.”
There is no specific legislation governing inserts, only for visors. Current Legislation requires that motorcyclists' visors comply with UN ECE Regulation
22.05 or British Standard BS4110:1979 (as amended).
These standards currently allow visors to have a light tint with a light transmission of no less that 50%. MAG requested this was
reduced to 18% of light transmission for day time use to bring visor standards in line with the current permitted light transmittance for motorcyclists' goggles (See MAG's campaign on
the web site from 2002).
The decision by the Transport Minister at the time was to keep the law as is.
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