Before shouting Euroland is trying to kill biking we have not implemented the European rules properly/how they were intended. It may be the UK is trying to kill biking more than Europe is.

Some little gems people don't know about 3DLD because they were buried over here and not implemented

Category A1:
— motorcycles with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 125 cubic centimetres, of a power not exceeding 11 kW and with a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0,1 kW/kg,
— motor tricycles with a power not exceeding 15 kW,
— the minimum age for category A1 is fixed at 16 years;
Category A2:
— motorcycles of a power not exceeding 35 kW and with a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0,2 kW/kg and not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power,
— the minimum age for category A2 is fixed at 18 years;
Category A:
(i) motorcycles
— The minimum age for category A is fixed at 20 years. However, access to the driving of motorcycles of this category shall be subject to a minimum of two years' experience on motorcycles under an A2 licence. This requirement as to previous experience may be waived if the candidate is at least 24 years old.
(ii) motor tricycles with a power exceeding 15 kW
— The minimum age for motor tricycles exceeding 15 kW is fixed at 21 years.
and the big one the thing that is really putting kids off bikes..... having to take 3 tests to get to a full A licence........... that was not what was actually mandated, there is clear allowance for a "training" route to upgrade a licence after holding it for 2 years rather than the current "test" route.

(c) who have, as regards category A2 or category A, on the condition of having acquired a minimum of 2 years' experience on a motorcycle in category A1 or in category A2 respectively, passed a test of skills and behaviour only, or completed a training pursuant to Annex VI;
So had we implemented 3DLD to the letter......

Kid gets A1 at 16, aged 18 he could do some training with his local school and gets A2, 2 years after that some more training and he has a full licence.

They also offer the ability to grant an A1 licence to anyone holding a B licence (car), though it would only be valid on the member states own territory.

3. For driving on their territory, Member States may grant the following equivalences:
(a) motor tricycles under a licence for category B, for motor tricycles with a power exceeding 15 kW provided that the holder of the licence for category B is at least 21 years old;
(b) category A1 motorcycles under a licence for category B.
For anyone interested in the full text it is here http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...LEX:32006L0126 that is the actual genuine text, the stuff google throws up has been altered by parties with their own agendas (UK gov, ROSPA, BMF, etc).