Vermont's local lawmakers would have an easier time blocking motorcycle rides before they even start, under a bill introduced in the Vermont General Assembly. Introduced by state Reps. Richard Hube (R-Londonberry) and Richard Marek (D-Newfane), House Bill 421 would require leaders of an “organized motor vehicle event” to get a permit from the council or select board of any affected municipality. Failure to get the permission would result in a fine of up to $1,000 plus “reasonable costs incurred by the town as a result of the violation."
This proposal also would make it easier for towns to restrict the types of motor vehicles allowed on certain roads and trails because it would do away with the requirement that the town get approval from the state transportation director before restricting access to roads.
AMA notes that this bill would make it easier for local politicians to stop recreational motorcycle events in places like Jamaica, which inappropriately stopped a dual-sport ride before it began last summer.
Even though the Vermont Attorney General’s Office took issue with many of the steps taken by Jamaica’s Board of Selectmen and local law enforcement officers to stop the Red Fox Turkey Run last year, HB 421 would give even greater discretion to local politicians.
Also HB 421 defines an “organized motor vehicle event” so broadly that any group of seven or more motorcyclists (street or dual-purpose) would be required to get a permit to access town roads.
If you live in Vermont and want to take action, go to the Statewatch section of http://www.amadirectlink.com/.
New Hampshire will no longer require motorcycle inspection stations to lease emission testing equipment designed to read onboard diagnostic computers in cars. An outcry from the motorcycle industry sparked the change. The industry argued the requirement made no sense, since motorcycles don’t have the onboard diagnostic computers that cars have.
A San Francisco, CA federal court has issued an injunction banning off-highway vehicle use in wash zones in 571,000 acres of public lands in the northern and eastern Colorado Desert region to protect the threatened desert tortoise. The affected areas are in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The court ruled the injunction will stay in place until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues a new biological opinion. In August 2004, the court overturned an earlier biological opinion based on a legal determination involving the regulatory definition of “adverse modification” of critical habitat for the desert tortoise.
The Michigan Senate -- which in the past has refused to change the state's mandatory helmet law -- voted 21-13 to send SB297 a helmet modification bill to the House.
The legislation would repeal parts of the 36-year-old law, letting riders 21 and older go without helmets if they have been licensed to operate a motorcycle for at least two years or have taken a safety course.
Eleven Republicans joined 10 Democrats in approving the bill. Nine Republicans and four Democrats voted against the bill. Four senators were absent and didn't vote.
For further information on SB297 and to send a letter supporting this legislation to your Michigan House member go to the Statewatch section of www.AMADirectlink.com.
A European motorcycle rights advocate who combined a love for adventure and motorcycling with a desire to help the less fortunate in the world has died in a crash in Mali, according to the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Association (FEMA).
Simon Milward, the former secretary general of FEMA, helped organize European motorcyclists in the 1990s and then embarked on an around-the-world trip that was dedicated to raising funds for several charities.
"Simon was one of the men most responsible for taking the motorcycle rights movement international," said AMA President Robert Rasor. "He brought motorcyclist rights organizations from various countries together and improved their lot in the European Union."
But Milward's advocacy work was just a prelude to a bigger adventure. On January 1, 2000, he set off on a homemade motorcycle for an around-the-world trip. He initially raised donations for Riders For Health, a charity that uses motorcycles to bring health care to residents of remote regions, and Doctors Without Borders.
In the United States, Milward joined with Rasor and other concerned motorcyclists to form Motorcycle Outreach, which funneled donations to motorcycle-related charities in other countries. Through Milward's influence, organizations aimed at using motorcycles to provide health care to the poor have been formed in countries ranging from Indonesia to South Africa to Argentina.
A native of the United Kingdom, Milward was 40 years old. Further details of the incident that took his life were not immediately available.
"Simon had an enormous impact on the motorcycling community," said Rasor. "He will be missed by motorcyclists everywhere." For more information, visit Simon Milward's website, www.millennium-ride.com.
North Carolina House Bill 347 - Right-of-Way Legislation - would strengthen legislation enacted last year in the Tar Heel State.
HB347 sponsored by Representatives Rick Glazier (D- Fayetteville), Dewey L. Hill (D- Whiteville), and John Sauls (R-Sanford), anyone convicted of a right-of-way violation resulting in death would be fined $1,000 and have their drivers license or commercial drivers license suspended for six month. House Bill 347 would cover failure to yield violations while approaching or entering an intersection, turning at a stop or yield sign, entering a roadway, upon the approach of an emergency vehicle, or at highway construction or maintenance areas.
You are encouraged to send a letter supporting HB-347 to your representative at the North Carolina House of Representatives, Legislative Office Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-1096.
Texas State Representative Norma Chavez (D-El Paso) recently received the first-ever motorcycle license plate that says “state official,” which she immediately bolted to her Harley-Davidson Sportster. Texas has issued “state official” plates since 1938, but this is the first one issued for a motorcycle.
Montana’s 59th Legislative Assembly is hearing regularly from the motorcycling community through extraordinary cooperation between all the off-highway vehicle and state motorcyclists’ rights organizations.
Working together, several motorcycle rights and safety groups reserved the floor space under the Capitol Rotunda for booths in mid February. While doing this they gave out cookies and soft drinks. One day the legislators even got sack lunches to work through the noon hour to get bills passed to the other house by transmittal date. Montana’s legislature only meets every other year for 90 days.
With about 30 bills that affected motorcycling in one way or another this session, the coalition worked hard to make sure a couple of them didn’t get introduced at all, early victories are the best. One of those was SB 285 which attempted to gain control over and rationalize the many fees and registration costs for many kinds of vehicles. The unintended results were changing how much the Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety Program and off-road trail use programs received funding.
The group also got a mandatory requirement for child safety seats removed from ATVs and motorcycles and introduced a vehicular homicide bill modeled after the AMA’s Justice for All program.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed legislation, without debate, in an effort to combat excessive noise from motorcycles.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 326, supported by police chiefs on the Seacoast and the Lakes Region. The legislation bans un-baffled exhaust systems on motorcycles and imposes fines between $200 and $500 on violators.
Also, the bill increases the fine for motorcycles emitting more than 106 decibels. The current fine is about $43, but this bill raises that to between $100 and $300.
HB326 is a compromise reached between the House Transportation Committee, the police chiefs and motorcycle enthusiasts. The bill is now before the Senate.
The West Virginia Senate passed SB444, known as Danny's Law, the Careless Driving bill by a unanimous vote of 34 to 0 with all Senators present, and voting. SB444 now moves to the House.
On Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Danny Kneisly, age 43, of Martinsburg WV was killed by a careless driver who violated his right of way by making a left turn in front of him less than a mile from his home. The driver was fined $20 for failure to yield right of way.
Danny’s Law is consistent with the AMA Justice For All program and is being championed by ABATE of West Virginia and Danny’s widow. For more information on Justice For All go to http://www.amadirectlink.com/.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a report stating that cellular phone use while driving has steadily increased to the point where 8 percent of drivers on US roadways were using the devices during daylight hours. This usage level documented in 2004 during the latest survey by NHTSA translates to about 1.2 million drivers using either hand-held or hands-free cell phones.
Surveys conducted in previous years illustrate the steady growth in use of what many traffic safety proponents believe is a major distraction to driving. In 2004, at any given time, one out of every 12 drivers were using a phone, growing dramatically from 6 percent in 2002 and 4 percent in 2000.
Focusing in on hand-held phones, the survey estimated that in 2004 during daylight hours, 5 percent or 800,000 drivers, were using this type of cellular phone. There was substantial growth in this sub-category as well when compared to 4 percent of drivers in 2002 and 3 percent in 2000.
The observations were conducted as part of NHTSA’s annual National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS). The 2004 use estimates are then compared with data collected in 2002 and 2000.
The 2004 data showed a dramatic difference in this category with 6 percent of drivers traveling alone holding phones, compared to 2 percent of drivers carrying one or more passengers. However, both drivers with one or more young passengers (aged 7 years old or younger) and drivers with no children on board used hand-held cell hones at the same level—5 percent.
Complete results of the latest cellular phone survey were published in the February 2005 issue of the agency’s Traffic Safety Facts. More details are available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pd/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809847.pdf.
Connecticut SB 721, An Act Requiring the Use of Helmets by All Motorcycle Operators and Passengers, has died on the Senate Transportation Committee calendar as of March 28, 2005.
SB721 was opposed by the Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association and the American Motorcyclist Association. You can read the language of the proposed legislation on the Statewatch section of www.AMADirectlink.com.
Massachusetts off-highway motorcyclists and ATV riders performed 2826 man-hours of volunteer trail maintenance in seven state forests under contract with the Department of Conservation and Recreation in 2004. This is a record level of documented trail work since the program began in 1996, and an eight per cent increase in the amount of volunteer work performed in comparison with the previous year.
This trail work has included building bridges, installing water bars to prevent erosion, building causeways through muddy areas, cutting and clearing out drainage ditches, clearing downed trees, cutting new trails under agency direction, grading/gravelling eroded sections, and installing an information kiosk.
The volunteers have performed 20,191 man-hours of trail maintenance on 200 miles of OHV/multi-use trails in the state forests since 1996.
AMA Government Relations News & Notes is a monthly service compiled and edited by the AMA
Government Relations Staff to keep motorcyclists informed of happenings around the world. We welcome
your news & views. Please submit all material to Terry Lee Cook, Grassroots Manager,
13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147; fax 614-856-1920 or e-mail to tcook@ama-cycle.org.
Copyright 2005 by American Motorcyclist Association