As agreed with the Minister of Transport in June 2010, the first meeting between the SAAQ and the Front Commun Motocycliste took place on September 2.

In the SAAQ’s corner: a VP responsible for ensuring that meetings run smoothly, two actuaries – the people who compile statistics for the insurance companies, a person in charge of road safety and one responsible for media and government relations.

In the other corner, OUR representatives: the president of the CAPM (the Comité d’action politique motocycliste), the president of the FMQ (the Fédération motocycliste du Québec), the president of Mouvement Escargot and a lobbyist hired by the Front Commun Motocycliste.

You can read the report of the meeting at www.mouvementescargot.org.

From what I can see, the SAAQ flatly refuses to consider reducing its premiums. Didn’t you know that civil servants don’t have a reverse gear – they don’t need one because they’re never wrong. It seems obvious to me that, in more or less veiled terms, the SAAQ refuses to acknowledge any serious studies conducted on motorcycle road safety such as the HURT or MAID studies or even any report that might indicate that the SAAQ has made a mistake. The SAAQ will consider only the studies and reports that support its stance.

At first glance, let’s just say that even if the Front Commun succeeded in getting the SAAQ to sit down with motorcyclist representatives, we get the feeling that the civil servants do so reluctantly, seem resistant to any change from their chosen path, and clearly don’t intend to consider any argument whatsoever made by motorcyclist representatives.

My friends, I think the Front Commun Motocycliste will need our help once again in 2011, and we have to be ready to act.

Freedom? We have to fight every single day to keep it!