Tiago Petinga / Lusa
But, in the end, there was approval. Miguel Santos speaks of a “historic day” but avoided important questions from other deputies.
They were approved as initiatives do PSD for, among others, remove the motorcycle inspection law and make it universal the access of these vehicles to the lanes BUS.
The positions were taken by the PS and Chega parliamentary groups – the two benches, in addition to the PSD, with the capacity to form parliamentary majorities – and confirmed later.
The debate had been scheduled in a powerful way by the Social Democrats to discuss five initiatives, including bills and recommendations to the Government, on motorcycles.
The PSD opened the discussion with the deputy Miguel Santos to regret the failure to implement the so-called ‘rails law’ – which provides for the protection of these structures on the roads for greater safety for motorcyclists – and what he says has been the State’s lack of attention to these drivers since the approval of this law 20 years.
“In fact, for the last 12 years, the only issue, and in fact the least relevant to promoting safety, has always been about botched inspections,” he said, and then argued that there is no correlation between inspections and road safety – a repeated argument by different partisan forces throughout the debate.
“Today is a historic day for motorcyclists. Motorcycling is a culture, a movement. One of the most democratic and integrative relationships”, reinforced the PSD deputy, in a speech almost like a biker.
In the PS’s first intervention in the debate, the deputy Carlos Bras assured that the PSD’s proposals would receive green light of his party, but regretted that the main government party had not allowed the discussion of diplomas from other benches on the same subject, arguing that this is not a “topic that can be captured by one party or another”.
To Carlos Brás’ intervention, PSD deputy Cristóvão Norte responded by stating that “it’s bad” for the PS to make these types of assessments on the issue of dragging after having “supported a Government that had eight years” to respond to the issues under debate and did not do so.
The same criticism was made by deputy João Tilly, from Chega, who accused the PS don’t do anything during the eight years of government and, in addition, he shot at the direction of the social democratic bench, highlighting that it was a PSD Government that legislated for mandatory periodic inspections of motorcycles. Later, deputy Marta Silva, also from Chega, guaranteed that the party will make the PSD’s proposals viable.
Carlos Guimarães Pinto, from IL, stressed that his party is in favor of the PSD’s proposal to end inspections on motorcycles and reiterated his criticisms of what he says were eight years of PS Government where the socialists, he considered, “were not able to do absolutely anything” in this matter.
Avoid the questions
To criticisms and questions, the PSD deputy went astrayas if avoiding obstacles.
IL asked “why only now?”remembering that the matter already arose in 2012. Carlos Guimarães Pinto highlighted that a large investment () has already been made in inspection centers – which could have been informed earlier, to avoid spending money. Miguel Santos responded that IL’s main concern is the inspection centers. “But our fundamental concern is motorcyclists” – and didn’t respond separate investment for “garbage”.
The PCP wanted to know why the proposals on IUC and tolls were not presented before the State Budget. The PMDB member deviated again: “Ask why it took us so long to wake up? THE PCP is still sleeping“; but assured that the proposals were already ready before the vote on the Budget.
Chega denied the PSD, which will not be as available for collaborations of all – because he did not accept the dragging of PS and PCP diplomas on the same subject; Miguel Santos said that the parties had “a lot of time” to present other proposals. João Ribeiro (Chega) also denied the idea that the Government will spend more on prevention, as the numbers show a greater focus on “fine hunting” than in prevention. Miguel Santos just repeated that he wanted everyone’s support and said that talking about “fine hunting” it wasn’t urgent.
BE, through Joana Mortágua, asked the PSD what measurements are designed as an alternative to periodic inspections. The Social Democrat deputy cited examples from abroad, where mortality fell even without motorcycle inspections – but didn’t say what measures you want to implement.
Unanimity
Paulo Núncio, parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP, highlighted the party’s support for social-democratic proposals, defending the importance of motorcycles “for resolver many problems modern mobility, transport and parking”.
António Filipe, from the PCP, announced that “in essence” the PSD will have the support of the communists in its proposals, but reiterated his criticism of the Government party, for having been responsible for creating the law for the inspection of the motorcycles, and to the PS, for not having reversed it while he was in Government.
O Livre, by Isabel Mendes Lopes, showed her desire for the debate to be elongate to road safety and mobility in a broader sense, and welcomed the PSD’s initiatives to “promote road safety and reduce accidents”.
From PAN, Inês de Sousa Real welcomed and guaranteed to follow social democratic initiatives, but lamented that the PSD would not allow proposals from other parties to be dragged into the discussion.
In the vote at the end of the afternoon, the three resolutions (without the force of law) of the Social Democrats recommending to the Government, for example, the reduction of the Single Circulation Tax (IUC) for motorcycles or the creation of a separate class in tolls for these vehicles were unanimously approved.
The bill with a view to facilitating parking and universalizing access for motorcycles to BUS lanes received a vote in favor from all benches at the exception of ILwhich is abstained, while the proposal to remove from the law the mandatory periodic inspections for these vehicles was approved only with the abstention from Livre.
