Leaders Report
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MRF E-MAIL NEWS
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 510
P.O. Box 1808
Washington, DC 20013-1808
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
MRF website
For Immediate Release
20 January 2009
Contact: Jeff Hennie,
Vice President of Government Relations (MRF)
Email: jeff@mrf.org
Washington Update
The National Academies Transportation Research Board (TRB) held its annual
meeting in Washington DC recently. The annual meeting is attended by tens
of thousands of transportation experts in every field imaginable and the
300-page itinerary is a testament to the robust nature of the meeting and
the TRB itself.
Of note to motorcyclists were several sessions aimed at specific areas of
motorcycle safety and research as well as a meeting of ANF-30, the
Motorcycle and Moped Committee of the TRB. The committee, chaired by Steve
Garets from the University of Oregon, had perhaps its most packed agenda
of the past few years, and the TRB meeting in general had more
motorcycle-specific sessions as well. The current Vice President of
Government Relations for the MRF has a seat on the ANF-30 committee.
The first session was a "human factor" workshop aimed at generating
research ideas to the scientific and university community. Some topics
mentioned were the aging community and motorcycling, eye tracking
research, conspicuity, anti-lock brakes and exposure.
The committee meeting was a diverse group with representatives from Canada
and as far away as Australia, as well as I industry, government agencies
and law enforcement. The committee agreed that it makes sense to join up
with the roadside barrier committee next year to explore how to make
barriers more motorcycle-friendly, considering that motorcyclists make up
42% of all fatal guardrail collisions.
The Motorcycle Industry Council gave a glimpse into the owner survey they
conduct every five years and some interesting insights were shared. Some
of which are; the median age of a motorcycle owner has risen from 32 in
1990 to 42 in 2008, the average income of motorcycle owners continues to
be above the national average, 29% more woman owners than in 2003 and
perhaps the most staggering was that women purchased 39% of all new units
in 2008. The full report will be available to MIC members shortly.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave a brief, but predictable
report on their studies that explore ABS systems (they work!) and one that
explores the "damageability" of specific motorcycles. Clearly tired of
paying expensive repairs for damage that is the same no matter if involved
in a high speed motorcycle crash or just tipping while parked. This study
will undoubtedly rate motorcycles on their sturdiness so expect to pay
more for your insurance depending where your bike rates on this
forth-coming list.
Another session of presentations gave some interesting insight into what
is happening in Australia, mainly the differences between the US riding
community and the Aussies. A quick breakdown of some key categories of
fatal crashes:
Category --USA --Australia
No Helmet --42% --10%
Speeding --58% --37%
No License --25% --20%
Alcohol --27% --38%
A presentation on the effectiveness of Rider Education proved, well,
nothing. The results were inconclusive if rider education was effective.
This was not an actual study but rather a review of already published
literature. Some interesting points were made, both for rider ed and
against it. Some argue that those who take a rider ed course are
predetermined to be safer and ride with more caution resulting in less
crashes of trained riders. Another view was that those who take rider ed
are not as good naturally at motorcycling and therefore will result in
more crashed of trained riders.
On another note this was the last meeting of ANF-30 that will be presided
over by Steve Garets. Garets has received a promotion of sorts to serve on
the TRB's System User Groups Executive Board. Garets will now make his
wealth of motorcycle knowledge available to the TRB Executive Board and no
longer be confined to the restraints of ANF-30. Congratulations to Steve
on this high honor.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA held a meeting on the heels of the TRB meeting while the
transportation community was in DC. The regularly scheduled meeting was
attended by all of the usual suspects : SMSA, MIC, MRF, AMA, and the TRB
folks. Some noteworthy news from the meeting about the much anticipated
crash study was shared. The pilot study to the full study has begun and
has already investigated 12 motorcycle crashes in the first month. The
pilot has a charter of 37 crashes or 3 months, whichever comes first. The
pilot study is crucial because it will give a sense of the cost to
investigate each crash which will be used to determine the cost of the
full study. Some say that the full study could come with a price tag of $9
million - that is $6 million more than originally estimated. The pilot is
being run by NHTSA and the full study will be run by FHWA.
Recall alerts
NHTSA has launched a new website where you can subscribe to vehicle
specific recall alerts. You can subscribe to the motorcycle alerts and
every time a recall is issued, the Feds will email you. Visit
www.nhtsa.gov for more info.
Fair Trade
You may recall reading in a previous report that the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) was considering doubling the price of European
motorcycles imported into the USA in order to retaliate against the
European Communities ban on importing US beef products. The MRF is pleased
to announce that the office of the USTR has dropped motorcycles from the
items subject to the price hike.
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Illinois Motorcyclists Rights Association, Inc
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