AMA News And Notes

October 2005

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Motorcycle fatalities increased by 8 percent in 2004 over the previous year, according to statistics released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
It was the seventh consecutive year that motorcycle fatalities rose, after years of declines during the 1990s — and it demonstrates the importance of a national study of motorcycle crashes that was funded as part of the transportation bill passed recently by Congress.
The multi-year transportation bill provides $3 million in funding for the first comprehensive study of the causes of motorcycle crashes since the well-known Hurt report done in the late 1970s. The study was one of the top priorities on the AMA Government Relations Department's legislative agenda in recent years.
NHTSA reported that 4,008 motorcyclists died on U.S. roads in 2004. While motorcycle fatalities increased 8 percent, and SUV fatalities rose 5.6 percent, passenger car deaths dropped by 3.2 percent.

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The driver of a Jeep who made a U-turn into the path of a motorcyclist, killing him, is considering suing the estate of the motorcyclist he killed, according to a newspaper report.
The News-Times in Danbury, Connecticut, quoted lawyer Philip Russell as saying he believes his client, Andrew Guazza, 31, of Beacon, New York, has a "valid claim" against the estate of the motorcyclist, Larry Pierce, 58, of New Fairfield, Pennsylvania.
On June 8, Guazza pleaded no contest to negligent homicide in Pierce's death, which occurred in 2003 when Guazza made a U-turn in front of Pierce, causing the fatal crash. Pierce was airlifted to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Guazza suffered injuries in the crash, primarily to his ankle.
Russell said the suit could be based on an allegation that the motorcyclist "came along unexpectedly at a speed substantially in excess of the posted speed," the News-Times reported.

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A sleek, almost silent, nonpolluting fuel cell-powered motorcycle is set to begin gliding down US streets by the end of 2006. The bike is dubbed the ENV (pronounced "envy"), short for Emissions Neutral Vehicle. The London-based company Intelligent Energy decided to develop the bike itself after years of cool reception to its fuel cell technology from manufacturers.
Since its unveiling earlier this year, the ENV has generated enormous interest—proof that the public is ready to embrace fuel cell technology, according to company officials.
The motorcycle has a top speed of 50 miles an hour and can run for 100 miles or up to four hours on a tank of compressed hydrogen. A fill-up costs about four dollars. ENV makes no more noise than a home computer and emits only heat and water.
Intelligent Energy plans to sell the motorbike for between $6,000 and $8,000. The company believes the ENV will appeal to both urban commuters and recreational riders. (National Geographic News)

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Arizona has been targeted by various environmental groups with a specific agenda to close many of the trails and roads in public lands to your off-highway vehicle. The threat is immediate and very real and we have already seen some areas restricted and others closed on public lands in Arizona. This will have a direct impact on your ability to access the areas that you and your families recreate in throughout the Grand Canyon State.
Because a huge percentage of public land in Arizona is managed by the US Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Arizona State Trust Land, these groups have targeted these agencies to pursue their anti-access agenda. Arizonans have already seen the the closing of vast areas of public land to all off highway traffic in California and other Western states resulting from this type of extreme environmentalism. As you know, once an area is closed, the effort to reopen it requires detailed scientific research and lengthy legal challenges, which is extremely expense and not always successful.
We don’t want this to happen in Arizona, so two years ago a small group of Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) clubs, businesses and organizations met in Phoenix to begin the process of assembling a statewide non-profit off-highway vehicle coalition that would act as a counter to these groups. The goal of this coalition is to represent all off highway groups on land management issues when dealing with Federal, State, Local agencies and private land owners.
The Arizona Off Highway Vehicle Coalition (AZOHVC) was incorporated in 2004 as a 501(C)3 Non Profit Organization and a website (www.azohv.org) was built to inform OHV groups of critical land management issues in the state.
The next step is to invite every OHV rider in Arizona to come listen and investigate the AZOHVC. Come weigh the benefits of becoming a member of this Coalition. ATV, Motorcycle, 4x4, Rock Crawlers Clubs, as well as OHV businesses and manufacturers are invited from all over the state. The First General Membership meeting of the AZOHVC will be held October 8th, 2005 at 10:00 A.M. at the Paradise Community College, 18401 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85032.
Now is the time for you to be heard and to join together with other OHV groups, businesses and clubs to help shape how public lands are managed in Arizona. Only though participating in the process will we be able to affect how it is used.
For more information contact Steve Carmickle, President, Arizona Off Highway Vehicle Coalition at scarmickle@msn.com.

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The United Kingdom’s motorcycle industry is calling on the Government to use its Presidency of the European Union (EU) to rule out the proposals looming over new bike license rules.
Proposals being considered in Europe’s ‘Third Directive on Driving Licenses’ look set to make it tougher than ever for new riders to get on to two wheels within six years.
The Motorcycle Industry Association says the proposals for motorcycling are among the most draconian ever seen.
Key proposals include: minimum age for riding bikes larger than 125cc likely to rise from 17 to 19, direct access to larger bikes not allowed until age 24 (currently 21), and new categories of motorcycle riding licenses creating several two-year ‘steps’ between bikes of different engine size. Additionally the EU is proposing that riders be required to complete extra riding tests between steps.

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Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee riders need to know that their respective states have already begun pre-filing legislation for their respective 2006 legislative sessions. Delaware’s pre-filing began on July 2, 2005, Florida’s pre-filing began June 24, 2005, Kentucky’s pre-filing began April 14, 2005, and Tennessee’s pre-filing began June 29, 2005.
Remember, influence is a year-round process. AMA members, state motorcyclists rights organizations, and all riders must keep in touch with their elected officials on a regular basis, both at home and in their capitol offices, so they know you personally and are always familiar with motorcycling issues.

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In a surprise move, a youth who killed two motorcyclists and maimed their passengers when he crossed the center line and hit them in New Mexico has pleaded "no contest" to charges related to the crash. His penalty? A $125 fine. Gerald Bailon, then 15 years old, was driving a pickup truck alone on a learner's permit near Taos, New Mexico, on May 30, 2004 when his truck crossed the center line and hit a motorcycle ridden by Leslie Walker, 59, of Colorado, killing him. Walker's passenger, Kathleen Pullara, lost her left leg below the knee as a result of the crash.
Timothy Searles, 41, and his wife, Jennifer, were riding a bike along with Walker. Timothy died later from injuries he suffered in a crash while avoiding the pickup, and Jennifer suffered crippling injuries.
Later, District Attorney Donald Gallegos dropped manslaughter charges against Bailon, saying the charges wouldn't stand up in court because of the legal requirements necessary to charge someone with manslaughter, or the greater charge of vehicular homicide. Gallegos referred the case to another district attorney for review, who ultimately charged Bailon with careless driving, driving left of center, and driving without a license.
On July 19 of this year, Bailon pleaded not guilty to the charges. But later that day, Bailon returned to court and changed his plea to "no contest." The magistrate accepting the plea dropped the charge of driving without a license because Bailon, now 16, had obtained a driver's license since the time of the crash. The magistrate then fined Bailon $125 and ordered the youth to pay $110 in court costs.
This is just one of many cases the AMA has been watching as part of our Justice for All campaign. You can learn more about the campaign by contacting AMA Grassroots Manager Terry Lee Cook at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1288; by e-mail at tcook@ama-cycle.org; or by going to the Justice for All page.

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American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) President Robert Rasor has been named to the steering committee for an international conference on motorcycle safety to be held in March in Long Beach, California. The committee brings together some of the most knowledgeable experts from the motorcycle industry, international and U.S. motorcycle organizations, and the government. The March, 2006, International Motorcycle Safety Conference is titled "The Human Element."
The chairman of the steering committee chair is Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Joining the MSF sponsoring the conference are the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the German Institute for Motorcycle Safety (ifz – Institut für Zweiradsicherheit), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Crisp County, Georgia motorcyclists are working to reverse a policy that prevents students from riding motorcycles to their local high school. The issue arose when the principal at Crisp County High School denied a student's request for a parking permit because he wanted to ride a motorcycle to school. The principal then went to the school board and the board passed a policy banning students from riding motorcycles to the high school, even though students have been allowed to do so in the past.
The policy does not apply to faculty and staff, who can ride to the school. The ban didn't seem right to AMA member James Musselwhite, himself a 1962 graduate of the same school. Musselwhite and other motorcyclists in Crisp County are working to overturn the ban. One of those is Jim George, the president of ABATE of Georgia, who happens to live in Crisp County, a small, rural county in south-central Georgia. Both Musselwhite and George spoke against the ban at a subsequent school board meeting.
"In cases like this, the best approach is grassroots action," said Terry Lee Cook, the AMA Government Relations Department grassroots manager. "Local elected officials pay attention when their neighbors, the people who vote them in and out of office, let them know they're doing something wrong. And that's what motorcyclists in Crisp County are telling their school board." The AMA will continue to work with local motorcyclists on the issue.

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The British Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is calling on riders to lobby officials to head off a new set of Swedish-style strategies to cut road deaths and injuries through stringent anti-motorcycle regulations designed for the European Union. They fear the new rules are aimed at reducing the numbers of riders coming into biking – because that’s an easy way of cutting accident rates.
MAG claims that this latest road safety scheme is a: “prime example of bewildering over-regulation in an effort to cut motorcycle accidents,” and points out that the European Commission has now set itself an accident reduction target of 50% in its 3rd Road Safety Action Plan.
MAG claims that by 2011 the cost of obtaining a motorcycle license will be out of the reach of young riders and the contribution that motorcycles can make to the reduction of congestion and environmental protection will be reduced. MAG also claims that the whole process of the directive can be seen as a philosophical approach that tougher testing and training will reduce accidents simply by reducing the numbers of motorcyclists.

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A Pennsylvania man crossed the center line and crashed into a charity ride that was being escorted by police according to authorities. One man was killed and several others were injured. The fatal crash occurred during the Chris Jones Benefit Bike Run on Route 309 near Drums, Pennsylvania. William Delaney, 41, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania was killed, and his wife was hospitalized in critical condition. Other riders were injured.
A report in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader said Jeffrey M. Borrin, 23, the driver of the SUV, was driving with a suspended license and was awaiting sentencing on a previous drunk driving charge. Since this incident Borrin is in trouble with the law again being caught driving with eleven bags of heroine in his car. Borrin has also been cited several times for driving with a suspended license since the deadly crash.

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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, American Motorcyclist Association

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