EU urges action after fatal mini-motorbike accidents

The European Commission warned EU countries Monday to take action over mini-motorbikes, many of which do not meet European safety standards, after a series of fatal accidents.

The commission, the EU's executive body, said in a statement that it had been alerted 10 times in the last few months about incidents involving the reduced-scale replicas.

Five people were killed using them in Britain in 2005 and one person has died so far this year. Some people were also breaking the law by using them on roads, it said.

"The increasing numbers of inexpensive mini-motorbikes on the EU market is an extremely worrying development," said Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

"These bikes are designed to appeal to youngsters through their small size and speed, but they are not toys and can kill," he said.

The commission urged the bloc's 25 member states to advise the public, manufacturers and distributors about the dangers, sample and test the machines themselves, and ensure that unsafe products are taken off the market.